Kingdom Hearts: Revival
by LunaPendragon18
Summary: It's a crazy plan but it's the only plan they've got. They need to gather all the Guardians of Light but the only one who knows where they are is trapped in the Dark Realm. So Sora must travel there but he needs an old friend's help him do so- a friend that shouldn't have ever existed! But can he do it all before the memories overwhelm him? Or before Xehanort's next move?
1. Roxas

"Sora, we cannot continue to meet- not like this, nor any other way." Roxas shook his head in disproval at the youth that sat besides him. A dark haired boy with deep, blue eyes. Although his face had not lost all it's childish features, Roxas knew that those relaxed eyes had seen more then any child's ever would and they held secrets, dark secrets, for if they weren't so Roxas wouldn't be here now.

The two of them were sitting on a conveniently bent palm tree, large enough to hold at least three people, the sea splashed below their dangling feet. A soft breeze ruffled Roxas's sandy hair bringing with it the smell of salt. His eyes drifted across the eternally red sea before him, remembering a different time- a time of sea-salt ice-cream and a promise – a promise to visit a place just like this with two people that no longer existed.

Roxas shook his head, he couldn't focus on the past, not anymore. He had to deal with the present to try save the future. He moved his gaze back on the boy sitting to the left of him, who was still looking thoughtfully out at sea, a small smile playing on his lips.

"If you want to stop meeting just don't show up when I call." Laughed Sora, still looking out at the horizon.

"We are inside your heart, Sora. I've got no choice but to show up when you call." Roxas rolled his eyes at the boy, knowing the latter already knew this, "You should be focusing on your training, on getting the Mark of Mastery and not on such trivialities."

" 'Trivialities'? I wouldn't call looking for the Guardians of Light a 'triviality'" countered Sora lightly , his arms behind his head as he continued to look forward, as if seeing something Roxas couldn't. Until a few weeks ago Roxas was nothing but a mere memory but now he lived on this twilight bathed Destiny Islands within Sora's heart, constantly having arguments with the latter, trying ti dissuade him from his terrible plan.

"They are trivialities when they lead to THAT road." Roxas sternly continued, hoping that one of these days Sora might actually listen to what he was saying. "That road was for people like me, not you."

"But technically aren't you me?" asked Sora finally turning to face Roxas, his blue eyes drilling into his own. It was unnerving just how similar they were to his own. "But then again you're you and I'm me."

"Yes, yes we've discussed that already!" yelled Roxas in exasperation, it was near impossible to get anything though his thick skull, but he had to. He had to stop Sora from doing this.

"So I've got to do this Roxas! It's the only way to end this, once and for all." Sora smiled as he said this, which only made Roxas feel more irritated.

"Then find another way if you're so set on this! There has to be another way!" practically begged Roxas.

"No, it has to be her. The first person we've got to rescue has to be Aqua she's the only one who knows how to find Ventus and Terra, I'm sure of it." Sora's eyes drifted towards the horizon once again.

"But it means travelling into the Dark Realms., a place where a light filled heart like yours would never enter."

"Aqua did."

"And look how that turned out! She's been trapped in there for a decade. The worlds cannot afford to loose anther keyblade wielder to the darkness." but Roxas knew his words were falling on deaf ears for Sora was no longer listening, instead the latter asked,

"If the world is round why does it end at the horizon?"

"Wh-what?!" Roxas was momentarily taken aback by Sora's question, didn't he understand just how serious his plan was? "what are you talking about? It's just an illusion of the light , the world keeps on going even past the horizon."

Roxas tugged at the rope of his hood in frustration, couldn't Sora see the seriousness of his plan?

"But if that's the case what's the white light behind the horizon?"

"What?" Roxas turned to face the crimson sunset that covered the sea and sky in hues of reds and pink. His eyes focused on the red horizon but, as expected he saw nothing past it but Sora continued to look on intently . Roxas sighed, this was Sora's heart after all he was bound to see things he couldn't.

 **Hey so it's been a long while since I wrote a KH fanfiction but I love this series so much! So that was the first chapter, not much but trust me the next chapters will have a lot more action :D that's it for now! Thanks so much for reading, I'll try update ASAP and pls tell me what you think of my story in the reviews (though I hope you enjoyed it). Until next time- LunaPendragon**


	2. Yen Sid

Sora woke up the next morning feeling as determined as ever. Today would be the day he started on his quest, it was the only way they would even come close to finding the scattered Guardians of Light. But he still laid in his bed, mulling over his thoughts, the early morning rays warming his face. He could already hear people training outside, it had been a five weeks since Sora and his companions had turned Yen Sid's tower into their training ground. He could hear the clashing of keyblades outside, Kairi and Axel were already training. Under Yen Sid's stern eye the two were swiftly advancing as keyblade wielders and one of them would be chosen to be the last Guardian of Light. Sleepily, Sora raised his hand above him, letting the orange light stream between his fingers.

"At least if my plan doesn't work there will be someone ready to replace me. My friends won't be any worse than they already are." He said these words out loud just so that he could hear them, as if saying them would make them true.

Sora wasn't good at keeping secrets, he never had to. But now, hiding his plan from all of them all- Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Riku, and even Kairi- his heart felt heavy with the burden. That was probably one of the reasons why he decided to set out today. He couldn't stand looking at his friends' faces and not telling them. He often wondered if that was why he had created that home for Roxas in his heart, so that maybe he'd have someone to talk to and tell such secrets to without consequence. He turned his head to face the little digital clock that sat on his bedside table, the time read 7:39. He had 21 minutes until breakfast, that would be his only chance to leave.

He quietly put on his clothes- a black overjacket with red lining and black cargo pants. He was just pulling on his gauntlets (he had recently discovered they were more comfortable than gloves during a fight) when the sounds of practice slowly faded from outside. He turned to the clock- 7: 45 he had to set out soon. This would be the only time the others would all be gathered in one place and this would be the only chance he'd have to get away unnoticed.

He slipped out of his room and very carefully began to make his slow journey toward the basement. It wasn't as difficult as he expected. Most of the tower's residents had already arrived in the dining room for breakfast where Yen Sid's mysterious servants would have prepared a lavish meal with dishes from across the worlds- enchanted scones, Traverse Tarts and so much more. Donald and Goofy were probably already there, taking their first plate, Axel and kairi wouldn't be far behind, already sweaty and covered in dirt from training. Riku and Mickey would be next, talking as if they had been up for hours. Chip and Dale too, would appear at some point to steal a couple of nuts. Finally Yen Sid would arrive, usually with that day's missions and training schedule.

The more Sora thought of this the slower his pace became. It was so tempting to just forget this self-appointed quest and head back upstairs where the smiling faces of his friends waited for him. But Sora shook his head and jumped down the remaining stairs three at a time. No, he couldn't waste more time here training. He was both a Guardian of Light and a Vessel of Darkness. Right now he knew on which side of that spectrum he stood but with each passing day the fear of the balance shifting weighed heavily upon his shoulders and he doubted he could hold out until the next Keyblade user was appropriately trained. Sora refused to fall into the darkness until he had gathered the remaining Guardians, especially if it meant his friends were given a fighting chance. He had to do what he could now before something happened to him.

He peered into the landing bay before entering, as expected it was deserted, all that there was were Chip and Dale's workbench and toolbox… and the Gummi ship. Its sleek yellow and red body gleamed in the dim light, the hanger door was open- Yen Sid had coated this world in protective spells so only those he permitted were allowed to enter, thus the residents had no fear of being attacked.

Sora looked at the small clock that hung from the workbench, 7:52, he had to get out of here soon, before they sent someone to check his room.

He ran across the small bay and trust the ship door open. He was preparing to climb in when a familiar voice caused him to stop, dread running down his spine.

"Was that how you planned to leave us, my young wielder?" Yen Sid emerged from the shadows as if he had been expecting Sora. "Not even a letter for your friends to tell them where you were going?"

"I didn't want them to follow me." said Sora looking at his feet, unable to look the old master in the eyes. He couldn't' bare to see his disapproval... or his disappointment.

"Wasn't it you that once said your friends where your power? It seems foolish to go on such a quest half-armed." The old sorcerer's voice was drawing ever closer, soft footsteps echoed around them until Sora could see Yen Sid's pointed shoes in his line of vision.

He forced himself to look up, looming over him was the old keyblade master, draped in his usual blue attire. He looked at Sora with knowing, dark eyes but it wasn't disapproval he saw but sadness- a sadness that told Sora that he might not be meeting the master again.

"You knew of my quest?"

"I've trained many a wielder Sora, I can often understand what's in their hearts."

"So you must know why I have to do this, and why the others can't come with me!" pleaded Sora backing ever so slightly towards the the ship.

"A dangerous quest to achieve something that many would deem impossible. You don't want to put your friends in harm's way." Yen Sid nodded his head, knowingly.

"So you know I've got to go on this journey, it's the only way to stop Xehanort for good." Sora stood his ground looking up at the taller man. "Please don't try to stop me."

The sorcerer gave a sad sigh. "I learnt long ago to never stand between my pupils and their hearts. They have surprised me in more ways than one."

"So, if you're not here to stop me," continued Sora, his stance relaxing slightly, "why are you here?"

"To give you a few parting words." Yen Sid quietly answered. "The stronger the light, the stronger the darkness that opposes it. Contrary to what you might believe, your light is strong, there is a reason why they chose you to be the Darkness's vessel."

"Right," mumbled Sora looking down at his feet, remembering everything the young Xehanort had told him not so long before. He wasn't anyone special in this story.

"Secondly, I don't know where you planned to go originally but I would suggest starting your journey at Twilight Town."

"Why there?" asked Sora, giving the old master a quizzical look. He hadn't really thought of where to go, he just planned to follow his heart, it had worked for him and his friends so far.

"You're Nobody believed that place to be his home and Namine sought refuge there too. She might have left clues, or lingering traces of what you are looking for."

Sora wanted to correct him and say that the Nobody's name was Roxas but instead said, "How could she?"

"Namine was a mysterious and resourceful girl."

Sora nodded his head in understanding. "Alright then. Thank you master."

Sora pulled himself into the gummi ship. Yen Sid bowed his head in acknowledgement and with a loud revving that probably could be heard throughout the whole tower the gummi ship was switched on. It was soon zooming out of the landing bay door, piloted by its sole occupant destined to go on a dark and treacherous path that neither might return from.

"May your heart be your guiding key." Murmured Yen Sid as the gummi ship vanished into the distance and the sound of running feet began to echo down from the staircase.

 **And now the real adventure has begun! I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I'll try to update as soon as possible. until next time and remember reviews are more then welcome ;)- LunaPendragon**


	3. Memories

The sun was already setting on Twilight Town when Sora finally landed the Gummi Ship in the dark forest on its outskirts. He took a shaky breath as he jumped out of the ship, allowing the warm summer wind to ruffle his hair, the same wind that caused the dark leaves to rustle above him. It all seemed so familiar- the scents and sounds- he tried to take a deep steadying breath but his steps were shaky.

Instantly so many memories flooded his vision he was forced to hold on the gummi ship for fear he would collapse with the sudden pain. Memories filled his mind- of walking through this wood alongside three teenagers- Olette, Hayner and Pence. Of laughing beside them as they discussed the seven wonders of Twilight Town. He remembered running past these dark barks, his keyblade in hand, as he fought Dusks in search for answers that bring his world crashing

Sora took another breath, forcing the pain away. "Those memories aren't mine." he murmured, "Those memories are Roxas's, not mine."

He closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate, pushing those memories towards the Destiny Islands within his heart. This was the worst Memory Flood yet. He refused to let anything of Roxas's to be forgotten. Back in that dream world Sora had accepted these memories until Roxas could claim them again himself. But it proved more difficult then expected as they threatened each day to overshadow his own. Sora carried many hearts within his own, so many lights and dreams and memories that they threatened to drown his own until he could no longer tell which where whose.

Sora opened his eyes, his thoughts finally clearing but not a moment too soon. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in memory, out of the thickening shadows around him, Shadows and Dusks began to surround him. The quivering shapes took one causal step after another towards him. Through the foliage above Sora caught a glimpse of the sky, now a deep shade of purple. It would be night soon and he did not fancy remaining in these woods when it got dark. With one final steadying breath Sora stretched out his hand. Instantly the Kingdom blade appeared within his grasp bathing, his hand in a warm light.

 _You weren't chosen by the keyblade._ Xehanort's haunting words echoed within his mind as they so often did when he called upon the keyblade these days. But sora didn't care if he wasn't the Keyblade's chosen one, he would continue to wield it and protect the worlds with it for as long as it allowed him to call upon it.

A small smile spread across Sora's face as he crouched into a fighting position . "Dusks and Shadows? I've dealt with tougher breakfasts."

And he was right. Although the monsters outnumbered him 20 to 1 he defeated them whilst barely breaking a sweat. They all vanished into tendrils of dark smoke but Sora could barely savor his victory before more rustling warned him that more monsters were appearing in the deepening darkness.

He looked around him, at the path that he knew led to the Old Mansion. He had to get moving, before larger monsters were sent his way, or worse- his friends came looking for him. He couldn't trust Yen Sid not to have told them of his destination.

Without a second thought Sora began to run through the wood, his keyblade held firmly in his hands. After so many years wielding it it simply felt like an extension of his arm, that responded to his slightest movement, slashing at any monster that dared to step too close. Panting from the sprint, Sora came to a crashing halt, almost slamming into the closed manor gates. He spun round, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath he took. For now it seemed the creatures refused to leave the confines of the woods. Taking a steadying breath to control his panting Sora looked up at the manor before him.

An immense pain erupted in his head again as he took in the building's dark windows and haunting atmosphere. He pressed the palm of his free hand to his forehead as images of Roxas standing in front of these same gates erupted behind his eyes, his name floating in multicolored light as Xemnas named him. Sora let out a breath. The memories were getting far worse than he expected, was this all because he had returned to a place that had been so important to Roxas?

"Those memories aren't mine." He whispered as the image of Roxas and the floating words vanished but, unnervingly, the image of Xemnas remained before him and with dread Sora realized he wasn't part of the memory anymore. Not only was Xemnas standing before him, peering down at him with his piercing eyes, Xehanort was leaning against the manor wall, a smug smile on his face too.

"There is a reason why we are brought into this world bearing one heart." Said Xemnas, his deep voice washing over Sora as he forced himself into a fighting position. "The strength of one's heart is heightened by the bonds that person forms. However, when one accepts another heart, or a multitude of hearts, the bearer risks losing his sense of self by being overwhelmed by all the hearts within his own."

"No, I refuse to let any of them go." yelled Sora holding out his keyblade in defense, the pain finally fully subsiding from his head.

"You're just a prison on legs, a puppet filled with the light of others," laughed Xehanort, sneering at Sora from where he casually stood. "I wonder, if those hearts where to suddenly leave you, would you approve of the heart they left you with?"

"Shut up!" yelled Sora, why did he always feel like this way every time the Organization spoke to him? So confused, helpless and lost. He hated this feeling. Sora wished he could wipe those smug smiles off their faces. He was tired of being toyed with. "I will bring Roxas back. I will bring all of them back!"

"And how do you expect to bring Roxas back when he should never have existed in the first place?" chided Xemnas, "There is only one way to accomplish it… Sora are you going to call upon the Darkness?"

"If it finally brought an end to your lot." Sora answered with unwavering determination. After so many weeks of planning and thinking and overthinking things his plan was finally brought into the light. "I will bring Roxas back and with his help we will find the remaining Guardians of Light."

Xehanort gave out a snort of laughter, "And what if I said you were following our plans to the letter? What if this little endeavour of yours engulfs you and you become the final vessel of Darkness, just as we require?"

"Then so be it." Sora calmly answered, "If in doing so I bring the help my friends need, then so be it."

Xemnas smiled evilly at Sora, "Very well, Sora. Continue on your quest, we will be there to welcome you when you've ultimately embraced the darkness. We have waited 10 years, we can wait a little longer."

A dark portal suddenly appeared behind the two Nobodies, it's hovering form churning in the air like malicious black smoke.

"Until we meet again Sora." called out Xehanort and with that the two men vanished into the portal that soon shrank and vanished after them. Sora only relaxed when he was certain that all remnants of the shadow portal had vanished.

"Then so be it." repeated Sora as he slashed at the chain and lock that held the gate in frustration. With an eerie screech the gates swung open and he took his first steps into the haunted mansion, a cold feeling entering his chest.

 **Hey :D So that's chapter 3! Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you are enjoying the story so far. I'll try update ASAP but until then reviews are more than welcome. Till next time** **\- LunaPendragon**


	4. Namine

Roxas smiled faintly as he looked at the drawings etched in the old cave wall. They were childish and disproportional as if the artist wasn't very, well, artistic…and Roxas was certain that Sora had drawn them. With jagged lines and a mouth open in a lopsided smile, it took Roxas only a few seconds to recognise the figure on the left to be Sora. The shape on the right was tougher to get a handle of. It's hair was less spiked and although Roxas couldn't say it was of better quality then the image of Sora, he could tell that more care had been taken to draw the second face.

"Kairi." He murmured as he reached out and traced the old drawing with his fingers, drawing on the memories of Sora that had once dwelled within it. Yes, this figure had a faint likeness to Sora's childhood friend, and a disturbing resemblance to Xion, but her smile was broader than any he had ever seen on Xion's face.

Roxas released a tired breath. He had no idea how long it had been since Sora last visited, time here passed at a different rate than that in the real world. An hour on Roxas's Destiny Islands could be equivalent to a full day in the real world for all Roxas knew. However, whatever the case, Roxas had to pass the time somehow, until Sora called again with another of his harebrained schemes.

Just thinking of Sora's plan made Roxas feel annoyed, causing him to tug at the drawstring of his cloak. Sora was being idiotic and unreasonable. It was just the nature of the worlds, a Nobody and his Somebody couldn't exist at the same time. It was one or the other, there wasn't an in-between. But Roxas had soon learnt that once Sora got an idea it was near impossible to sway him.

With an audible sigh, Roxas turned his back on the cave drawing, shining his flashlight on the rest of the cave, it would be wiser to focus his attention on exploring his current home then worrying about bone-headed keyblade wielders. He vaguely wondered if this was how Axel felt every time he had wandered off during his Organisation days. If it was he sort of felt sorry for the guy.

Roxas didn't expect to find much else in the silent cave, he was already mildly surprised with what he had already found but he doubted that the caves held much else of interest. However, his torch revealed something else on the opposite cave wall- another collection of cave drawings. An assortment of four faces, most smiling crookedly up at him. Curiously, Roxas took a couple of steps towards the wall for a closer inspection.

These drawings seemed to have been drawn more recently as they appeared less eroded by time. They also seemed to have been drawn more crudely, as if the artist's skill was getting worse with time rather than better. He recognised one instantly, it was another drawing of Kairi, with a smaller smile this time but it was undoubtedly her. On the left of the carving were two identical engravings. At first Roxas thought that Sora had drawn himself again but, upon closer inspection, he noticed discrepancies in the jaggedness of the hair and the smile on these two faces. Although identical to each other they were more serious than the one on Sora. Bewildered Roxas realised that these faces were childish imitations of his own face.

But why were there two?

Why had Sora drawn his face twice?

Roxas took another few steps towards the wall, so that his nose was almost touching the wall, curiously inspecting the two images. They were near identical, though for some reason the one on the left seemed to be older than even first images Roxas had seen. He also noticed another small difference between the two. On the right side of each face was a roughly drawn symbol. Besides the right face was an X while on the other was what looked like a heart with cross pointing downwards.

Roxas's mouth suddenly felt very dry as he traced the X besides his face- was that the pendent he used to wear back when he lived in Twilight Town? The other symbol looked eerily like the inverted sigil of the Nobodies. An unsettling feeling washed over him.

What could Sora have meant by drawing these?

Roxas inspected Kairi's image next to it the symbol of the Nobodies was clearly inscribed.

What was the meaning of this?

Heart racing, Roxas turned to the final image, the only one of the collection he could not recognise and the only face that was not smiling. Gingerly he wiped at the damp wall, trying to find any sign of a symbol engraved beside it. Roxas found no symbol but something else happened. The instant his fingers came in contact with the cold engraving a startling white light filled the cave room, blinding him and causing him to stagger back, wiping his burning eyes with his sleeve.

Tentatively he opened them again, slowly blinking away the light spots that obscured his vision. The wall came back into focus- barely. The blinding white light was still erupting from the image, its intensity softened just enough to not permanently blind the teenager. Not only was the image glowing, tendrils of light were slowly creeping across the cave wall. At first the tendrils' movement seemed random and haphazard but Roxas soon realised that the largest concentration were spreading towards a specific tunnel.

Roxas didn't even hesitate, he began to follow the light into the tunnel. On any other world he would have argued against such a careless move, it went against everything the Organisation had ever thought him. However, this was a world created by Sora and Roxas was certain that there was nothing on this island that would hurt him. However, it also seemed that Sora's heart was trying to show him something- now if sora knew of this or not was another story entirely.

He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, or how far. Time and distance seemed to merge with the sound of his footsteps and the slowly moving light. If he didn't know better Roxas would have suspected he had walked straight to another world.

Eventually the light led Roxas into a wide, dark room where it slowly but steadily split into seven equal streams of light. Each one moved towards a cone shaped rock where it finally burst into seven, separate, blazing, white flames, filling the room with their warm light. Roxas dropped his torch when he noticed what was in the center of room.

Something that looked like a circular altar adorned the room's center, it's surface made of shards of glass in a thousand hues of white, grey and light blue. It shon beautifully in the magical light but it was greatly dimmed by the person that lied, sleeping, upon its surface.

A slim girl with skin so smooth and pale she might have been carved from marble. Her long blond hair neatly framed her face and her white lace dress fell immaculately around her, like a shroud of light. Her arms were casually crossed over her stomach and the steady rise and fall of her chest told Roxas that she was sound asleep.

However his mind was still racing as he watched the girl sleeping on her glass alter.

How could this be?

Why was she here?

How?

"Namine?" breathed Roxas, barely believing his eyes.

 **Tada! And chapter 4 is done :D what did you guys think? No Sora in this one but I couldn't have him hogging the limelight, Roxas has a role to play in this too. I really hope you guys are enjoying the story and thanks so much for the reviews, they are always more than welcome. Until next time and remember, may your heart be your guiding key :) - Luna Pendragon.**


	5. Paper

One word perfectly described the Old Mansion- creepy. Although it had only been a few months since Sora last visited the place, a thick layer of dust coated the floors and furniture, painting everything in a greyer shade. Giant cobwebs also hung from the corners and Sora sincerely hoped he did not have to meet the spiders that made those webs. Keyblade still in hand he took one careful step after the other, each one sounding as if an elephant was walking through the front door. It felt almost wrong to disturb the silence that filled this building, as if after what had befallen here nothing was allowed within except the ghosts of the past.

Keeping an observant eye around him, Sora made his way towards the spiral staircase. Cobwebs decorated the banisters in a coating of broken lace. As he took his first step on the dusty rug the front door slammed shut with a sound so ominously loud that Sora almost jumped up five steps.

"It's only the wind." He murmured, his voice echoing eerily around him. If only Donald and Goofy were here, this place would surely appear less haunted. But Sora shook the thought away. He was doing this alone for a reason and he couldn't risk putting his friends in further danger.

With that thought filling his heart with courage he took one steady step after another until he was standing in the corridor that would ultimately lead him to Namine's old room. Thus far all seemed to be going according to plan. The place seemed deserted, not a single monster seemed to be looming within the shadows however Sora never let his guard down.

He was right.

Sora had almost reached Namine's room when he heard a low rustling behind him. As quick as physically possible he jumped to the left, dodging a glistening blue cube that flew past his head. Two floating sorcerer nobodies hovered before them, their entire body cloaked in grey, their hooded hands clasped before them as if in prayer. Pair of floating blue cubes hovered beside each monster.

"I was wondering when you guys would show up," commented Sora, crouching into a fighting position, ready to dodge the next attack.

As expected the two monsters didn't speak but they did send the cubes flying towards Sora as if he had just said something rather offensive. He managed to dodge two while swinging his weapon at the third, sending it flying towards a Nobody who instantly vanished on contact. However because of this Sora had little time to dodge the remaining cube. It crashed into his arm, sending an instant sharp up it. He gritted his teeth against the pain and kept his eyes on the monster that had already conjured up another 2 cubes. The monster glided silently in the air and with a slight gesture of its hands the cubes were sent flying towards the keyblade wielder once again.

But Sora was prepared for this. With impressively swift reflexes he dodged under the cubes and stabbed the monster where it stood. It didn't even have time to react before it vanished into a wisp of black smoke. Wiping the sweat from his brow Sora remained in a fighting stance, waiting for any more monsters to arrive.

Fortunately it seemed that these were the only guards in the mansion at the moment.

Unfortunately that didn't give him much time to dawdle, more nobodies would come to take their place in no time.

With one hand still gripping his keyblade Sora firmly grabbed the rusted doorknob of Namine's room and, with a small push, opened it. A high-pitched screech filled the air as the door protested against its opening but Sora paid it no head- he slid into the room, locking the door behind him. At least it would slow down anything or anyone that followed- for a short time at least.

The white room hadn't changed a bit since the last time he had visited. The walls were still a startling white. A table still furnished the center, broken crayons scattered haphazardly upon it alongside a few pieces of unused paper. The window curtains were open giving Sora a clear view of Twilight Town. The sun had fully set by now, stars twinkled above and the town was ablaze with the lights of people following their own lives, unaware and uncaring of what was happening within the mansion a mere stone throw's away.

However, what was truly impressive, was the sheer number of papers scattered across the room's floor. Hundreds of papers with crayon images upon their surface, some were clearly finished, others only half done, all were cryptic in their own way.

And Sora hit the first hitch in his plan.

What was he meant to do now? Yen Sid had told him to visit Namine's room on the notion that it held some kind of clue. Yes, Namine was a mysterious and resourceful girl but if she somehow had left a clue for him it would most likely be one of those drawings. But with so many, where would Sora even start?

"Namine a little help would be nice." he said to the empty room as he bent down and picked up a paper he was stepping on. A grey footprint now covered the front of the paper but the image below was still obviously clear. Drawn in startling hues of orange, green and blue this rough drawing showed Sora sitting on the palm tree back on his home world, watching a sunset over the sea.

But Sora had barely time to register the image didn't he crumple it in his grip as a fierce pain spontaneously erupted within his skull, causing him to slump back and skid to the floor, his back resting against the door.

Was he having another Memory Flood?

But this one seemed different from the rest. He saw Namine and Diz but no Roxas. He could see their lips moving and slowly their voices filled his ears as if the room was reciting a play meant for Sora alone to enjoy.

"Do not worry Namine, _that_ place will remain hidden here for the rest of time. Only you and I will ever know of its entrance." The tall man, draped in cloth like some desert nomad, stood reassuringly beside Namine, his arms crossed, observing the girl beside him with intelligent eyes.

Namine nodded her head, her eyes seemed to be looking straight at Sora, her deep penetrating gaze seemed to look right through him which, with all honestly, was probably what she was doing. If this was a Memory Flood Sora wasn't truly there- he was just a spectator of something already long passed.

Namine then closed her eyes and clenched her fist over her chest.

"Yes, the Organization must never discover its location. I fear if they do the experiments will continue with even greater severity."

"But I must admit, they were truly ingenious to even fathom the notion of creating artificial bodies to serve as puppets…" but Diz's words were quickly cut short when he noticed the disapproving look Namine gave him. He cleared his throat, awkwardly. "My apologies. Yes, such experimentation could not be allowed. It would tilt the balance of the worlds too severely. But you truly are a witch worthy of the name, your little spell will prevent any form of travel to that world except through this one specific entrance."

"And that entrance's location will die with us." Namine's voice was rich in determination as she once again locked eyes with Sora. For a chilling moment it really did seem that she was looking at him, giving him a warning for what lies ahead.

Sora then slumped back against the door with a loud thud and sat there panting as the pain slowly subsided from his head and the images of Diz and Namine flickered out of existence, leaving Sora once again alone in the disused room.

What was that?

Those were definitely not Roxas's memories but then did that make them Namine's? That seemed like the most logical answer but at the same time Sora couldn't help wonder, how? How did he even have Namine's memories and why had they so conveniently emerged now?

Was this the Organization's doing?

Possibly.

Sora gritted his teeth as he forced himself back on unsteady feet but there was also another possibility- somehow Namine had left him that specific memory knowing that he'd someday need it. Unknown to him, the answer was both more complex and much simpler than either. If Sora had taken a moment to think about it, he probably would have come to the correct conclusion but instead his eyes focused on the white chair Namine had appeared to be sitting in only moments before.

What had she and Diz meant by puppets? He could feel a memory of Roxas's tugging for his attention but he pushed it aside for now, he couldn't afford another Memory Flood. But something in his heart told him that that world the two spoke off was where he was meant to go next. But that only caused another question to arise, how could he get there?

His eyes continued to focus on Namine's chair as he replayed the memory in his mind, the way Namine looked at him as if she knew he were there.

 _But what if she wasn't looking at me?_ He thought carefully turning to face the corner behind him. A broad smile spread across his face when he saw it.

"Oh Namine you're awesome!" he yelled in excitement, throwing his fist in the air as he saw what Namine had been really been looking at. The keyblade began to hum in Sora's hand as if it too had realized what was before them.

The corner looked like any other corner in the room except for a tiny little mouse door that almost merged perfectly with the background.

Still smiling, Sora pointed the blade at thee door and a beam of light erupted from its tip. In a flash of light a glowing door appeared before him.

Where would the door lead? There was only one way to find out…

 **And there's another one! What did you guys think? Always cool to end with a mystery so where do you guys think the door will lead Sora next? Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews guys, they are always more then welcome and I really hope you are enjoying the story (and that it isn't too predictable XD). Ciao for now and remember, may your heart be your guiding key- LunaPendragon**


	6. San Fransokyo

Sora looked around him in amazement. He had been to many different worlds- castles, coliseums, underground caverns, computer programs- he'd been to them all! but this world really won the prize for most awesome in Sora's books. The ttenager looked gleefully at the towering buildings above him. It was still light on this world but the buildings were alight with a concoction of adverts and moving images. Some of the skyscrapers simply ended in flat roofs, others, the more impressive of the collection, had magnificent red curved roofs like those Sora had seen on Mulan's world. Although these buildings were already awesomely tall some had floating grey contraptions above them, attached by near transparent rope like massive balloons.

Sora continued to look gleefully around him. The giant city might have copied Wonderland for to Sora it looked like a giant maze. Streets zig-zagged left and right and up and down as if they aimed to make the journey as confusing and long as possible. But the citizens didn't seem bothered. They walked with their heads tucked, looking at little palm sized screens while cars and cable cars zoomed around him, occasionally honking as they passed. In the distance Sora even could make out a glistening blue sea with a magnificent and massive red bridge guarding it.

None of the pedestrians paid Sora much head. The gate had opened on the side of a cafe, amongst the dustbins and recycling bins (upon which Sora had promptly fallen into). After pulling a stale bagel out of his hair he'd quickly closed the gate behind him to make sure no one could follow. Although the memory about Namine still confused him he knew that this was a world she had hoped would remain hidden.

Though why, totally baffled Sora.

He kept on finding himself smiling and looking up at the blimps that floated lazily around the crowds. Magnificent scents of baked food mixed strangely with motor fumes to make a strange perfume. The people where brightly dressed and although busy they looked quite lively and happy, as if they were happy doing whatever it was they were doing.

 _The others would have loved it here._ Thought Sora as he saw a cable car zoom past, the conductor tilted his hat at him with a small smile, the words 'San Fransokyo' were painted in black along the side.

Was that the name of this world?

He could feel the light showering this world as if very little darkness resided here.

Yes, the others would have really liked this place.

But that begged the question, why had Namine and Diz worked so hard to keep this world secret? If it had anything to do with the Organization it was definitely something bad. But no matter how much he tried to concentrate he couldn't sense anything. Probably it was due to the large number of people that resided in the city, it was all truly overwhelming.

Sora puffed out his cheeks in thought. Where was he meant to go?

He scanned the area, a bloom of smoke obscured the east side of the city bebside the coast. That could only mean one thing- trouble.

With the adrenaline of arriving in a new world still running through his veins he conjured his keyblade and began to run in the general direction of the smoke, ready for some heroics.

However, Sora's entrance was all but heroic. He had not been wrong to describe San Fransokyo as a maze. Enroute Sora had gotten lost more times then he would care to admit, walked into an innumerable number of people, almost got run over by some form of wheeled vehicle seven times and was also almost arrested by the police for 'wielding a weapon without a permit'. By the time he actually arrived on site he was imagining Phil yelling not so encouraging words at him about being a real hero and being out of shape.

"Please shut that stupid goat up!" panted Sora.

"Sorry Kid this place is closed."

"What?" Sora looked up at the person who had spoken to him.

A police officer in full uniform was looking down at him, most of his face was obscured by the big hat and sunglasses he was wearing.

"Can't let you through." the officer repeated in a monotonous tone.

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" Asked Sora, gesturing at the black smoke that was still erupting from an unseen fire behind the officer.

"Explosion at a Krei Tech event."

"How did that happen?"

"A man in a Kabuki mask initiated the attack using microbots."

"A man… in a Kabuki mask…" Sora's voice trailed off as he raised a questioning eyebrow at the man.

"Attacked using microbots."

"Which are…?"

"Very tiny robots."

"..."

"I couldn't make this up kid."

"Fine." laughed Sora shrugging his shoulders, he was friends with talking candelabra and mermaids, nothing could possibly sound weird to him now.

"So who are those guys?" he continued, pointing towards 4 brightly coloured people that were being surrounded by police officers and paramedics. One of the individuals in yellow seemed to be yelling at two men in black, one of which was being restrained by police. However, whatever she seemed to be saying was lost in the commotion surrounding the area.

"Those are the people that apprehended the man in the Kabuki mask." The officer answered, still maintaining his bored tone.

"One of them looks like a three-eyed dinosaur." Sora pointed out, his interest building the more he looked at the scene before him.

"Your point being?"

Sora shrugged again. "Well I'll be seeing if they need my help."

"Kid I told you this place is off limits to civilians."

"Good thing I'm not a civilian then." laughed Sora, causing the Keyblade to appear in his hand with an impressive burst of light.

The Officer just stared, open mouthed, at him. He didn't even try to stop him from passing and running towards the crowd.

Up close Sora could see the group more clearly. Amongst the collection of police and paramedics 6 specific people stood out in particular. Two were men in black- one in a dust covered suit and a very defined nose and the other seemed to be wearing a ripped black cloak and was being restrained by two police- as well as the 4 youths in armour. The dinosaur (which disappointedly simply appeared to be a person in a costume) seemed to be struggling to restrain the girl in yellow. She was wearing sleek black and yellow armour with wide discs attached to her ankles, though what they were for Sora couldn't fathom. She was yelling angrily at the two men.

"No! Hiro is still in there! We have to reopen the portal and get him out!"

"I'm telling you, the machinery has malfunctioned, and there's no way we can reopen the portal." The man in the suit spoke solemnly, as if something like this had happened to him before.

"I would expect no less from you, Krei." spat the restrained man, sneering at Mr Suit.

"Oh don't get me started on you!" yelled the girl in yellow, causing the police officers to flinch with each word she said. "If it weren't for you Tadashi would never have died and Hiro wouldn't have done any of this," she gestured at her fellow coloured friends. "If there's anybody to blame it's you, you lousy son of a…"

"No need to get colourful." Hastily interrupted the tallest member of their group. A large man in green armour and dark cropped pants. "Although I agree with that statement full heartedly," he shot the restrained man an ugly look. " There are children in the vicinity."

He nudged his chin, not so subtly, in Sora's direction who had somewhat stopped to gawk at the drama unfolding before him. Suddenly he had become the center of attention.

"Hey what is a kid doing here?" yelled one of the police officers restraining the man.

Sora let out an exasperated sigh, "If someone calls me kid one more time…"

He raised his keyblade in annoyance although he knew it was an empty threat. The restrained man's eyes widened.

"A keyblade? Are you with the Organization?" yelled the man struggling against his captors. "Have you come to help me?"

"Wait, you know about the organization?" Sora yelled back, almost equally as surprised.

"I'm sorry, don't listen to that man." The last member of the group gracefully began to walk towards him. She was wearing a light purple dress with white lining and dark magenta sleeves and leggings. She was also wearing purple platform heels (although how she managed to walk in them was a mystery to Sora). Like her companions she also wore armour, though hers was pink in colour and matched her belt. A bag was slung over her shoulder. "You must be lost." she said sweetly. smiling, though it appeared she put too much effort into it.

"But I'm here to help." said Sora raising his Keyblade as if to prove it.

"With… a giant key?" the man in green questioned as the girl in yellow roughly pulled both her hands free and, after glaring at the restrained man one more time, turned to face Sora with hostile eye.

"What do you think this is, kid? Some game? We just lost our friend to some blasted portal and this guy says there's no way of getting him back." she roughly pointed at said man again, her voice slightly cracking with each word she said. "I'm in no mood for some random kid's games."

"Go Go…" the girl in pink put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Sora was momentarily speechless after the girl's outburst.

"Go Go listen to the boy. If he's holding what I think he's holding he might be just what we need." The restrained man said.

"Shut up!" Go Go spat back, "why would we believe anything you tell us?"

"Professor Callaghan, what do you mean?" Asked the boy in green, looking Sora up and down as if trying to see _how_ he could possibly help.

"Wasabi, he's just a boy."

"So was Hiro."

"And look how that turned out!"

"Hey!" yelled Sora finally getting tired of people talking over him as if he weren't even there. He firmly gripped the Keyblade, it had faintly begun to hum like it had back in the Old Mansion. "They don't call me a Keyblade hero for nothing. Tell me how I can help."

Go Go stomped her foot in frustration but the girl in pink answered. "A friend of ours, Hiro, got trapped in another dimension."

It might not have seemed appropriate in the current situation but Sora couldn't help smile, this was right down his alley!

 **So that's chapter 6! I have quite a bit more planned for Sora and San Fransokyo but I hate writing massively long chapters so thought it best to stop here for now. I'm sorry this was quite a boring chapter but I hope you guys are enjoying the story anyway! Thanks so much for reading, I'll try update ASAP. Until then, may your heart be your guiding key- Luna Pendragon.**


	7. Hiro

"You look awesome!" Yelled Fred, throwing his fist in the air and almost tripping over his own tail.

"But was the armor really necessary?" Sheepishly asked Sora, looking at the new outfit Fred and the others had forced him to wear. Like the others, he was now wearing black armour and black cargo pants with red lining. He self-consciously adjusted the shield of his helmet, it clasped uncomfortably around his neck. "I thought we were in a hurry?"

"A true hero always has time to suit-up." Fred mysteriously answered.

"We had to take the precaution." added Wasabi looking approvingly at Sora's outfit. "We've no idea about the atmospheric environment on the other side of the portal."

"Gravity, oxygen levels, radiation." Honey Lemon made the list with her fingers, "We've no idea what it's like in there and we don't want you exploding."

"R-right, not exploding is good with me." Laughed Sora as he stomped his feet and adjusted the grip of his over-sized gloves.

"Those are equipped with magnetic adhesion- they kind of let you hold on to surfaces for a short time. " Wasabi explained, "And the helmet is attached to a Oxygen conversion tank. We've all got one, lets us breath easy. But whatever happens, do not take off your helmet while you're in there.

"Because I'd explode?"

"Ka-bloom." agreed Fred, gesturing helpfully with his hands.

"And the last thing, " Added Honey Lemon excitedly, "You seeing this little button? That's the turbo pac." She pressed a button at the center of his chest. With the sound of gears shifting a pair of jet wings emerged from his back. "And this little joystick at your belt here will help with manoeuvrability."

Sora nodded his head in understanding, trying to focus on what the two were saying but finding it a bit difficult. If only the others could see him now! Suited up like a real hero!

"If we had more time we could have equipped you better."

"Or actually adjusted our suits to be able to join you."

"But we can't spare more time." Go Go interrupted, looking around at the quarantine zone the police had cleared around them under Krei's orders. He'd somehow convinced them that they were part of Krei's elite guard and they were here on a search and rescue mission.

Believing Krei, the police had quarantined the area more efficiently than when Sora had entered. Krei had even provided them with a helicopter that swiftly took them to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, where the team (who Sora soon discovered where total geniuses) built his suit from scraps they had lying around their lab. Now barely half an hour later they were once again at the site of the incident and the smoke had dwindled to a stream of grey clouds, now stained red in the setting sun.

"Right." Agreed Sora though he slightly wished someone would come with him. It would be good to have some back-up, this lone journey of his was proving more tiresome than expected.

"Provided that Keyblade of yours actually works." Added Fred helpfully.

"Fred!" the three geniuses gasped in exasperation, all nudging him to stay quiet.

Sora gave a small laugh. "Don't worry it will work. I'll be in and out with Hiro and Baymax before you can say 'San Fransokyo'."

"San Fransokyo." said Fred.

"It's an expression." laughed Sora as he raised his Keyblade, letting the weapon lead him to where he had to go. Shifting slightly to the right a blinding beam of light erupted from the tip of his blade. The others gasped as a portal slowly swirled into existence, it's sucking force increasing proportionally to his size.

"How…?" Began Wasabi, wide-eyed.

"I'll be closing the portal on the other side." yelled Sora, fighting against the portal's pull. "I don't want anyone else accidently being sucked in."

"But…" began Honey Lemon, but Sora didn't wait to hear what she had to say. Keyblade firmly held in hand he jumped through the glowing circle.

'Strange' wouldn't even come close to describing the place he entered. Sora couldn't call it a world because there was no land or water or anything to suggest anything that was substantially whole. It might have been considered a realm- a dark realm with jagged pieces of debris floating idly around. Gravity seemed to be non-existent too as the teenager just floated there for a few seconds, taking in what he saw, before he remembered the jetpack on his back.

With a clumsy jerk of the joystick the machinery ignited almost pushing him right back out of the portal before he moved the joystick again bringing him to an abrupt halt. With a little heave he swung his feet around so that he was now facing the portal, he could just make out a blared image of San Fransokyo. Thankfully no one had gotten sucked in but Sora couldn't risk it. With a swift motion of his keyblade the portal vanished and Sora waited for darkness to enveloped the realm.

However instead, some of the debris actually began to glow a fluorescent blue. It was both beautiful and eerie at the same time. Sora had been in the space between worlds but the scenery that unfolded before him appeared ethereal, truly otherworldly.

Taking one final second to appreciate what he was seeing Sora began to carefully maneuver his way around the glowing debris. Sora found out the hard way that not everything present within the realm actually glowed. He flew into quite a few non-illuminant walls and street lamps until he forced his eyes to adjust to the darkness and not just on the glowing rocks. His control of the jet pack was also improving through trial and error (but I believe Sora would rather I don't elaborate the mishaps that led to that.)

The space was silent, the only noise was the quiet humming that erupted from the jet pack, and it was cold- almost unbearable so. Even through the mask, Sora had lost the feeling in his nose and ears and he had to stay clenching and unclenching his toes and fingers just to make sure they still worked.

"Hiro! Baymax!" he yelled, his voice didn't echo in the vastness of where he traveled but he thought that the two couldn't have gone too far from the portal. Honey Lemon and the others had given Sora the short version of what happened. Hiro and the others had defeated Professor Callaghan (who had been up to no good) and had opened up the first portal. But for some reason Hiro and his giant robot (the kid had a robot as a sidekick!) flew back into the portal. Why they did that the others had no idea but the portal closed before they could get back out. "Hiro! Baymax!"

"Over here!" someone eventually responded. Sora squinted his eyes trying to look around for the source. Below him barely a hand's length away something with a particularly shiny surface was floating. Before he could even comprehend what he was seeing, he flew into something metallic that made a loud clanking sound.

"Ow." he murmured, messaging the surface of the helmet where his nose had hit.

"I heard a sound of distress." suddenly said a voice in front of him. Squinting his eyes in the dim light Sora gave a low impressed whistle at what was standing in front of him. A giant, armoured, humanoid creature was looking down at him, giant jetpack versions of his own sprouted from its back. The creature looked down at him with faintly glowing dark eyes and no mouth. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"W-what?" stammered Sora as he contemplated, just how hard he had bumped his head?

"On a scale to one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" the creature continued in a robotic tone but it didn't sound the least bit menacing or hostile. It gestured to its stomach as if something was meant to appear on it. "Oh dear, the armour is obscuring my screen from view."

"Don't worry big guy," said another voice, the same one that had answered Sora previously, "That was probably a zero on the scale."

The speaker appeared from behind the taller creature. This was definitely a boy of about 14, a few inches shorter than Sora. Like Sora he was wearing armour that appeared to be mainly purple in colour with red accents as well as steel-toed black sneakers.

The boy looked at Sora with a questionable look.

"You're Hiro right? So this must be Baymax."

The boy nodded his head

"Your friends sent me to get you out of here." Sora explained.

"You mean Go Go and the others?" he said as if things were finally making sense.

"Yep, they couldn't come…"

"Yes, I thought as much, their armour wouldn't have protected them in this place."

"So they sent me instead." Sora put his hands on his waist feeling like a real superhero. "Oh, by the way my name's Sora."

In the dim light Hiro smiled faintly. "Sorry you got stuck with a suicide mission but the portal you came in through already closed, we could see it from here."

"That's not a problem, I've got a key out of here." and with a small gesture of his hand the keyblade appeared in Sora's grip.

"Wicked!" exclaimed Hiro, "It's a literal key."

"Well they don't call it a keyblade for nothing."

"And you closed the portal with it? How? Does it have a miniature dark matter accelerator? Oh! Or maybe a quantum tunnel inducer. Or maybe…"

"I try not to think about it." laughed Sora. "Now let's get you guys out of here."

"Eh." Hiro's voice faltered. "Two slight problems with that plan. First we have to take this capsule with us."

"Capsule?"

Hiro tapped the ground, it clanged metallically under his over sized-boot. "It's a travel pod and we think it's carrying Callaghan's daughter.

"Bio readings indicate the patient is female with very weak vital functionality," added Baymax.

"Right so this thing is coming with us, " Agreed Sora, "What's the second?"

"The microbots." Hiro ominously answered.

"What about them? The others said you guys sent them packing."

"Yes, and they should be harmless without something controlling them. However, that's the thing, they are still active and attacked us! " The younger boy seemed genuinely perplexed by the situation, "When we saw the portal appear the second time we tried to get to it but the Microbots massed around us and just went mad. It was like they didn't want us leaving. It makes no sense!"

"No fret Hiro, we'll get you guys out of here, no problem." Sora tapped his foot on the pod below his feet, "Baymax's jet pack still working?"

"Affirmative." answered the robot.

"Good. Hiro grab hold, Baymax and I will use our jet packs to move this thing."

"And the portal?"

Sora raised his Keyblade once again, "This thing will guide me to it."

"Impressive."

And with that the three got to work trying to get a grip of the pod with their magnetic gloves.

"Ready guys?" called Hiro from where he sat, crouched in front of the other two.

"Aferremtive."

"Let's do this." and with one hand gripping the keyblade while the other held onto the pod. Sora began to push. Baymax did the same.

Slowly but steadily the small group moved across the silent realm, occasionally adjusting direction according to where the Keyblade pointed them.

"This is the place!" Sora eventually called as he pointed his keyblade towards the empty space before them. Baymax slowed the pod until it was only moving slightly forward. A familiar beam erupted from Sora's Keyblade and the portal began to warp into existence. "Let's get out of here!"

Sora was about to begin to push again when Hiro began to yell.

"Guuuuuuuuuyyyyyyssssss!"

Quickly as their jet packs would let them, both Baymax and Sora released the pod and flew to where Hiro had been crouching only seconds before. He wasn't there but with the light being emitted from the portal he wasn't hard to spot.

Sora half wished it was dark again.

Hiro was squirming in the suffocating grasp of the biggest monster Sora had ever seen, and it seemed to be made of tiny, black metallic objects. The creature kept on shifting shape like clay, constantly folding in on itself, as if looking for a shape but was pleased by none it had formed so far.

The only constant thing was the iron grip that clutched Hiro. So large was the monstrosity that it seemed to block most of the portal from Sora's vision.

And if things weren't bad enough, it looked like the thing was growing larger by the second too.

 _Just great_ , Sora thought, as he clutched his keyblade and readied himself for a fight.

Things pretty much started to go downhill from there.

 **And there you go! Another chapter published! Sorry it took so long but summer holidays have finally started so I was away from home and couldn't write. Thanks so much for reading! Hope you guys liked the new chapter, feel free to leave a review, I love to hear what you guys think (the good, the bad and the meh). Well until next time and remember, may your heart be your guiding key!- Luna Pendragon**


	8. Baymax

"We must save Hiro." Baymax stated, matter-of-factly, as the giant microbot monster slammed him in the chest, shoving the robot back in a shower of miniature robots.

"I'm trying, big guy." Sora half panted, as he tried to dodge another attack while holding his keyblade, a feat that was proving almost impossible. Sora's blue eyes fell on the squirming Hiro, who was pounding helplessly at the microbot claw that gripped him.

How could they save the kid if they couldn't even get close to him?

Sora dodged another blast of microbots, the little black bots flew instantly back to their main body, the red 'Heartless' symbol gleamed on their surface. Hiro, the boy genius had wondered how the microbots were able to move without someone controlling them. Well, Sora had the answer- the machines had become possessed by Heartless. Now if each individual bot was possessed by its own Heartless or all of them were possessed by one giant entity was a mystery to him. However, one thing had become painfully clear, the keyblade did not have have enough power to even give this thing an itch.

"Get out of here!" yelled Hiro, as he continued to pound at his captor with his oversized gloves.

That, too, was simpler said than done. The Microbot Heartless was standing between them and the portal. Sora couldn't close it again nor could they get past and they sure as hell weren't leaving this place without the whole party. But, the longer the portal remained open, the more the keyblade wielder worried about the others on the other side. He could just make out blared, incomprehensive shapes on the other side- what if some of the possessed microbots were escaping to San Fransokyo? Or worse, what if someone from San Fransokyo got sucked in? They had dawdled in this place for long enough.

 _Think, think, think_. Thought Sora, pounding his helmet with his gloves, trying to jog some form of idea. Oh what he wouldn't give to have Riku or the King here right now. They'd know what to do.

BAMM!

The air was knocked out the teenager as, in his distracted state, he was unable to avoid the monster's next attack. A solid metallic wall of microbots slammed into him, sending him spiraling down, crashing into the pod that was still hovering idly by, rotating slowly.

Sora crashed onto the capsule's hard metal bottom. Sparks flew as his armour scraped across the pod, his head slamming side to side like one of Quasimodo's bells. Momentarily dazed, Sora just lied, crumpled, there, blinking away the stars that danced across his vision. Groggily he tried to sit up, but almost fell back in pain, every inch of him felt battered and bruised like he'd just been put in a washing machine with a very angry cat.

"Bioanalysis indicates numerous fractures and lacerations." Baymax landed with a small tud in front of Sora, tilting the pod slightly downwards, "Diagnosis suggests immediate treatment at an equipped health center."

Sora tried to laugh, but even that hurt as he forced himself onto weary feet, using his keyblade for support as he stood. They had to finish this soon, Sora doubted he could survive another hit like that. With a slightly shaky hand he pulled at the joystick at his waist, the jetpack on his back gave a pitiful little creak. Cranking his neck to see the machinery, Sora realised that it had been totally destroyed upon impact.

Just great, he couldn't fly now.

"BEEEEEAAAAAPPPP!"

"What was that?" wearily asked Sora, looking around him.

Baymax's eyes flicked momentarily red, "My batteries seem to be running low." he said that last word an octave lower than the rest of the sentence.

 _Just great._

"Guys just get out of here!" yelled Hiro at the top of his voice, "Forget about me."

"That is not in my programming." stated Baymax, his voice changing a few octaves as he spoke.

Sora had to agree with the robot as he eyed the mass gripping Hiro, if only they had something hard enough to break through the layer of microbots surrounding him. Sora tapped his oversized boot on the pod, a metallic clang reached his ears. He continued to tap and tap as a plan slowly began to form in his mind.

"Baymax, does your jetpack still work?" the poor robot looked as battered as Sora felt, much of his chest and head armour was lost and what remained looked badly cracked. With a shaky creak the wing-like structures emerged from his back.

"Jets are operational." answered Baymax.

That was the best news Sora had heard all day.

"Awesome!" he yelled, running to the front of the oval shaped pod, forgetting the pain that erupted with each step he took. With one gloved hand he firmly clasped the metal capsule while he pointed the keyblade in front of him like some knight in a joust. "Baymax, I want you fly us into that claw-thing with as much force as you can!"

But the robot took so long to answer, Sora was half-scared he had run out of charge without him realising but, slowly, Baymax said, "Calculations predict that such an impact will cause bodily harm to Hiro."

"Trust me Baymax, Hiro isn't going to get hurt in any way." answered Sora, his heart pounding as the adrenaline of his plan began to pump through his veins.

"Trust...trust is given to those called friends."

"I'm your friend alright Baymax, Hiro's too!" Sora smiled back, "I promise we'll get Hiro safely out of here."

Baymax took another minute to answer, "Yes, get Hiro safely out of here."

If Sora didn't know better, he might have imagined that there was a double meaning behind Baymax's words but, for now, he couldn't dawdle on them, they had to free Hiro.

Shakely, Baymax flew to the other end behind Sora and, very slowly, began to push the pod towards Hiro. However, steadily, the projectile began to pick up speed, until Sora had to firmly grip the pod with his free hand and both his legs for fear of falling off. It was also becoming increasingly more difficult to keep the keyblade pointed how he wanted it to be.

Hiro continued to yell at them as they continued to accelerate closer but both Baymax and Sora ignored him. The monster raised another shifting arm to swipe them away but, although it was strong, it was slow, it would never reach them in time. They had built up so much momentum that the force of the pod's impact along with the keyblade's power was just enough for them to pierce right through the claw. Finally free, Hiro collapsed on the pod behind Sora in a shower of microbots.

"That. Was. Wicked." He panted, looking from Sora to Baymax in gratitude.

However they had another problem now. The pod and its occupants were wedged in the claw and were no longer moving. And, if things weren't bad enough, the microbots mass was shifting once again, surrounding the small group. If they didn't act soon, they'd be trapped and Sora didn't think they could get out that a second time.

 _Think think think_. He thought, as he swiped at the reforming microbots. Sora could see the portal before them, unhindered- they were just so close! An ominous beap erupted from Baymax once again, Sora doubted the big guy had much charge left.

"Sora." The robot calmly called, it's voice changing intervals. "Get Hiro safely out of here."

Sora's eyes widened as the real meaning behind the robots words sunk in, it sounded as if he wouldn't be leaving this realm with them. It seemed that Hiro, too, understood the secret meaning behind Baymax's words, as he frantically crawled on all fours towards the robot.

"Baymax, you're coming with us!" The boy begged his voice cracking slightly with each word.

Baymax's eyes flickered momentarily, microbots continued to surround them, in a dark all-consuming bubble. "There is still a way I can get you to safety." A soft light seeped out of the armor that still surrounded his hands and wrists, accompanied by a soft revving sound. "I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care."

"No no no , wait! What about you!?"Exclaimed Hiro.

"You are my patient."

"B-Baymax…!"

"Your health is my only concern."

"Stop!"

"Are you satisfied with you care?" Baymax's eyes flickered once again.

"No! There's got to be another way! I'm not gonna leave you here! I'll think of something!" Hiro was frantic, looking around him, but all he could see were microbots, slowly closing away their final means of escape.

"There is no time." Baymax insisted calmly, "Are you satisfied with your care?"

"No! I can't lose you too!"

"Hiro, I will always be with you."

Hiro's small shoulders slumped, "I-I'm satisfied with my care." his voice was rich with tears and he didn't even try to hold them back.

It felt as if someone was tugging at Sora's heart, making it extremely difficult to breath but, not matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't do anything. He was doing his best to fight off the microbots and stop them from blocking their only way out. However now, not only his limbs hurt, but his heart too.

"Sora, get Hiro safely out of here."

And with that Baymax's two gloves detached from his body with just enough force to free the pod and send them flying towards the portal. Baymax's eyes flicked one more time until they finally closed. They didn't open again.

The capsule and its passengers flew through the portal, picking up speed exponentially until they had to hold on for dear life. As they passed through the blinding light Sora saw the microbots, in one final bid to capture them, swarm towards the portal. But Sora, his heart still heavy, pointed the keyblade at the portal. He wouldn't let Baymax's sacrifice be in vain. A light erupted from the keyblade, permanently closing the portal before even a single microbot could emerge in San Fransokyo. The pod crashed in the concrete coated floor of this world, sending both Hiro and Sora flying and crashing on its hard surface.

Sora tumbled and rolled like a ragdoll, pain erupted across his body. Fatigue and pain washed over him, making him unable to move. He heard yelling from somewhere, it could have been from anywhere- a hundred miles away or from somewhere inside his head- Sora couldn't tell. He closed his eyes and was submerged in the world of unconsciousness.

 **Hey! So that's chapter 8! Sorry it took so long but I really hope it was worth the wait. Thanks so much for reading and please don't forget to review, I love to hear what you guys think. I'll try update as soon, we will finally be returning to the main plot but, until then, may your heart be your guiding key- Luna Pendragon.**


	9. Puppet

"Sora!" yelled Roxas in shock, as the young keyblade wielder washed up on the red bathed shores of Destiny Islands. It had been a rather surprise-filled day for Roxas. The cave drawings had revealed quite a few secrets but the earthquake was really the cherry on the cake. It had happened when Roxas had touched the final drawing, the image of himself with the inverted Nobody insignia beside it. The light that had emerged alongside the earthquake had led towards the shore and that's when he'd seen Sora.

Slightly submerged in the shallow water, the teenager was slowly sinking into the soft, white sand. The currents washed over him, causing his hair to sway around like some alien sea anemone. One hand too was moving slightly with the current too, while the other was laid on her stomach.

"Sora!" yelled Roxas, as he ran through the ankle-deep water, which proved a bit difficult in his long cloak.

What had happened?

Why was Sore here?

Why like this?

Carefully , Roxas knelt besides the teenager, his cloak know getting soaked from the knees down but, at that moment, he didn't care.

What had happened?

Roxas gave a slight sigh of relief as he noticed the even rise and fall of Sora's chest- he was alive but that was a given otherwise, Roxas and this archipelago would have vanished too. But that didn't mean that Roxas didn't feel relieved, at least briefly. He looked down at Sora's sleeping face- it appeared anything but peaceful.

What had happened?

Gingerly, Roxas put a hand on Sora's shoulder, thinking of how he was going to get him out of the water. But, that wasn't necessarily. The instant Roxas's hand touched Sora a spark, like static, ran through the two boys. Roxas felt momentarily light-headed but he shook the peculiar feeling away.

"Roxas?" Sora's voice sounded hoarse and his eyes opened wearily.

"What happened to you?" Roxas asked, carefully helping Sora to his feet. For some reason his feet were shaky, barely able to support his own weight so he had to accept Roxa's help to get to shore without complaints.

"I got a bit roughed up." Sora tried to laugh but it sounded a bit painful. However, thankfully, with each step he took he seemed to be gaining in strength.

"You don't say?" Roxas sarcastically retorted, finally letting go of Sora when they reached shore.

"So what have you been doing while I was away?" Sora stretched as he spoke, trying to shake of the hollow feeling that had nestled in his chest since they had lost Baymax.

"Well I found out I wasn't the only person living here." With a calm gesture, Roxas pointed behind him, where two girls were quietly standing, one smiled faintly as she realised Sora was looking in her direction. His eyes bugged out as he recognised the person standing before him, with her fair hair and simple attire Sora would have found Namine in a crowded hall. The second girl he couldn't give a name to but a painful breath got stuck in his throat, she looked exactly like Kairi only with black hair and, she was also wearing an Organization cloak like Roxas.

"I see you're still out looking for trouble." Smiled Namine taking a few steps towards Sora, the other girl followed closely but, for some reason, she wouldn't meet his eyes.

Sora turned to Roxas, astonishment clear on his face, "What _have_ you been doing?"

"I told you, exploring. I found these two sleeping in the caves." Roxas shrugged, nonchalantly, "I was as surprised as you when I found them."

"But Namine what _are_ you doing here? " his voice faltered as he turned to face the unnamed girl, "And, I'm sorry, I feel I should know you…"

"Xion, " Roxas promptly answered before the girl could even open her mouth, "She was with me at the Organization."

"Well that's all well and good but that still doesn't explain why you're in my heart."

"Like Roxas, Xion and I are both Nobodies with a connection to you, " Namine calmly explained, "I was a Nobody formed from Kairi's heart and your soul and body."

"And I'm a Nobody that should never have existed." Xion finished, finally looking up at Sora as she spoke, it was really rattling how much she looked like Kairi.

"What do you mean?"

"A Puppet filled with Roxas's leaked memories. I was created by the Organization to become a Vessel of Darkness if both you and Roxas proved unusable to them."

"She is also the answer to your quest." Added Namine.

"Hold it!" interrupted Sora, messaging his brow, there was too much to take in, "I'm still trying to figure out how you two are here, and you might have to specify which quest, I got a bit sidetracked since my last visit."

" Well it may seem that through the bonds you and I formed with Xion and Namine your heart kind off assimilated them and put them here, where they were a sleep until I found them." Roxas tried to explain.

Sora sighed, "Why not?"

However Xemnas's words echoed in his mind, " _When one accepts another heart, or a multitude of hearts, the bearer risks losing his sense of self_."

Sora had assumed he had been talking about Roxas but was it possible he had known about Xion and Namine too? Even before Sora himself had known? That might explain the Memory Flood he had experienced back at the Old Mansion, the one he was so certain hadn't belonged to Roxas- could that have emerged when Roxas had woken Namine?

The way things were unfolding it seemed the most logical explanation.

"As for which quest, the one where you are trying to bring Roxas back." Xion stated.

"The one I'm still fully against, by the way." added Roxas, crossing his arms.

Xion rolled her eyes at the teenager causing Sora to smile, the two must have been good friends in the Organization.

"You are on the correct path." continued Namine, "The world of San Fransokyo holds the key to the Organization's Puppet experiments. It was on that world the Vexen, with Professor Callaghan's help, created the Puppets that the Organization would then manipulate, as they had done with Xion and Replica Riku you faced at Castle Oblivion."

"So the key to getting you all out is somewhere on this world?"

"Sora, there was a reason Diz and I took such measures to hide San Fransokyo. It was to stop people who were trying to achieve what you are doing." Sora raised a questioning eyebrow. "However, I also believe that your plan is the only way to defeat Xehanort. That is why I will tell you what I know.

"For a being to be whole it requires 3 essential components- the Body, Soul and Heart. With Callaghan's help, the Organisation was able to artificially create Bodies they called Puppets. These were Bodies moulded from artificial cells and tissues and capable of functioning like natural organisms but without the Heart and Soul they were unable to work. From Callaghan, Vexen learnt the means of creating such Puppets and thus was the purpose of his lab at Castle Oblivion. However, unable to stand the idea of Callaghan's creations outshining his own, Vexen destroyed all of the professor's research. Ironically Axel destroyed all Vexen's puppets in Castle Oblivion…"

"So I came to San Fransokyo for nothing?"

Namine shook her head, "A single prototype might still be in existence but the professor is the only person I believe knows where it is hidden. He probably wished to someday use it as leverage against the Organization. However, if you did somehow menage to find the Puppet you still need two more components- the Soul and Heart.

"The Soul is a simple enough part to create, the Organisation had perfected that to an art. The Soul is the entity that drives the body to live and survive. It is the bonds and memories forged from the instant an organism is created." Namine gestured towards her comrades, " You may say we are the Souls of our former selves- the memories and bounds we forged during our brief existences. Such Souls can easily be created through the manipulation memories."

Namine gave a guilty nod at that, clearly remembering her involvement in the creation of the Replica Riku and her abilities.

"So the Heart is the last part I'd need." prompted Sora, his mind racing. The Puppet-Body thing he needed was somewhere in San Fransokyo and the Souls were, strangely enough, residing within his Heart. There was only one ingredient left that he needed.

"The Heart is the trickiest part, " Namine continued to explain, "It cannot be created by any artificial means. Ansem tried for many years to create hearts but to no avail. It was the reason he fell to the Darkness."

"And that was the main reason why we of the Organisation captured Hearts." added Xion, "We believed that although we couldn't create our own Hearts we could take the Hearts stolen by Heartless and make us Nobodies whole once again."

"But it is an extremely Dark path," stubbornly added Roxas, "To steal the heart of another is to prevent that person from becoming whole again."

"What if I used my own Heart as a source?" Blurted out Sora, shocking the other teenagers into silence, "what if I gave a portion of my own Heart to complete the Puppet and create a Somebody?"

"Could that even possible?" asked Xion turning to Namine.

"If it is, it's a magic I have yet to witness." She admitted.

"Don't encourage him!" yelled Roxas, "If it's never been done we don't know what effect that would have on the original body! You could not survive! And do you plan to share your heart amongst the three of us? Think Sora, if you gave each of us a quarter of your heart, what would be left for you?"

"And you are assuming you will find more than one Puppet." added Xion, "If they've all been destroyed in San Fransokyo and Castle Oblivion you'd be lucky to find one, let alone three."

Sora was silent for a few moments, mulling over his thoughts and all the information Namine and the others had given him. Then with determination burning in his eyes he said, "Then I'll revive Roxas first and ask Callaghan to create two more bodies for you. I'm sure that although his research was destroyed that man still has something up his sleeve"

"Sora give it rest! You still don't have a Heart, you are wasting your time trying to get me out of here!" Roxas shouted, furious at Sora's stubbornness, couldn't he see how mad this was? How Dark the path he was taking was?

"And why are you so opposed to me helping you!" yelled back Sora, clenching his fists, finally tired of Roxas contradicting him.

"Because I- none of us- should have ever existed!"

"But you did exist and I can't just forget that!"

"But why not?! The others did!"

"Because you stopped existing because of me!" Sora yelled back, shocking Roxas into silence, he hadn't expected that answer. "If it hadn't been for me or for my friends trying to help me, you three would still be alive! living your own lives and not stuck here!"

"But the worlds need you more then they needs us." Calmly answered Namine, taking another step towards the boy.

"How do you even know that's true? I'm not even the real chosen one of the Keyblade!"

"Sora…" but whatever Namine was going to say was never said as, in a blink of an eye, he flickered out of existence.

"He's a thick-headed idiot." Blurted out Roxas, stomping his feet and tugging at his hood rope..

"He's a compassionate boy- often brash and naive but with a strong sense of justice." Namine explained, a hint of admiration lacing her voice, "He's the kind of person that no even Nobodies like us, that have good reason, can hate."

"Sounds a bit like you." Joked Xion, nudging Roxas playfully.

"I'm nothing like him!" he murmured, blushing slightly at Xion's words, his eyes falling on the actual reason they had emerged from the caves.

As the earthquake had subsided, a collection of flickering lights had merged to form a small raft that bobbed lazily in the sea. A trail of light, like Ariadne's thread, still shimmered below the surface, leading towards the blood red horizon.

With Sora's sudden appearance, Roxas had completely forgotten about it. "It seems we have one more secret to unlock." He said, walking towards the raft, resigning to the fact that he wouldn't be able to talk Sora out of his plan.

 **And there's another one and I swear I think it's the longest chapter I've written so far! What did you guys think? Thanks so much for reading and I hope you guys are enjoying the story thus far! Reviews are always welcome and remember, may your heart be your guiding key! - LunaPendragon**


	10. Callaghan

It was strapped to hospital machinery and dressed in a flowery hospital gown that Sora met the notorious Professor Callaghan. It had been two days since the incident but Sora had only woken up an hour before, to the eager hugs of the Nerd Herd, Gogo had even punched his shoulder fondly.

They had explained that the doctors were truly astounded by his recovery, he'd entered the hospital with so many broken bones and lacerations they were debating if a full-body cast would have been only solution. But , as Sora slept the broken bones had bent back into place and the skin had grown back where it had torn so that by the time Sora opened his eyes he didn't even have a scar of any of his previous injuries.

Even with San Fransokyo Med's advanced medicinal techniques, doctors had never seen anything like it. They were even daring to call it a medical miracle!

"Oh, it's just one of the perks of wielding the keyblade. " laughed Sora as he saw the astonished looks on the Wasabi and the others' faces. Fred was the only one nodding his head as if such things were expected.

But the smile had quickly faded from Sora's face as the final member of the group walked into his hospital room. Hiro was in a Hospital gown and dressing gown and looked worse for wear. A giant purple bruise coloured one of his cheeks and a clean white bandage was over one of his eyebrows. His left arm was in a sling but the boy smiled broadly at Sora.

"I never really thanked you for saving me." Hiro had said.

Sora just shrugged, which caused one of the machines to move slightly, "It was nothing. Hiro I'm Sorry…"

But Hiro didn't let him finish. He shook his head and pulled out a little green chip no larger than his palm, a cartoonish doctor was smiling alongside the words "Tadashi Hamada". Sora had recognised the name- it was Hiro's brother.

"This chip contains all of Baymax's programming and memories. They found it while we were hospitalised, the big guy must have removed it and sent it out with us when he saved us. " Hiro smiled even more broadly at Sora, hope gleaming in his intelligent eyes, "We only lost his body to that place, the real Baymax is safe in this chip. I can rebuild his body, no sweat! Baymax will be back in no time."

Sora gave the youth a small smile, it seemed that now the two of them were on a quest to bring back their friends.

"That's good to hear."

*Cough*

Surprised by the sudden interruption they had all looked up to see an armed police officer standing in Sora's door.

And that's how Sora ended up sitting across from the handcuffed Callaghan with a pair of armed police officers at his door. An awkward silence fell between the two before Sora asked, "How's your daughter?"

"Abigail's out of critical care now." The professor looked weary and tired but he smiled faintly to no one in particular, "The doctors say she'll need to be rehabilitated after so long trapped within that pod but they say she'll make a full recovery."

Sora nodded his head. "That's good to hear."

"I can't thank you enough for saving her." he continued.

Sora just shrugged, machinery squeaking around him, "Don't fret about it... but I was hoping you could help me with something."

"If it's still in my power." The professor admitted, lifting the handcuffs that now hindered his freedom.

"You worked for the Organization to create Bodies… Puppets right?" Asked Sora.

"Yes, I did, awhile back. But that Organization destroyed all my research and equipment. I do not have the means to create any more if that's what you are asking."

Sora's shoulders slumped at his words but then something Namine had said caused him to ask, "What about a prototype? Do you maybe still have a prototype of your research?"

Callaghan paused before he answered, "Yes, I have a single puppet left. I had managed to hide it when they destroyed all my work."

"Could I have it? Please?" He blurted out. In his excitement he almost jumped out of his bed. One of the monitors began to beep even more rapidly.

"Why would someone like you need a Puppet?" Callaghan's eyes were narrowed with speculation.

"I'm trying to bring someone back."

"I see…" The professor spoke as if deep in thought. "With the kind of weapon you wield you clearly come from a different world. Don't worry, that secret is safe with me. I was warned of the complications if other worlds learnt of each other and I also know the intricacies of trying to create a Somebody. The puppet in my possession may act as a substitute to the Body…"

"I've got the Soul safely hidden." provided Sora, "I just need the Heart."

"Indeed, it's the trickiest bit in this equation." Collighan paused as if still deep in tought but then gave the teenage a samll smile, "As thanks for saving my daughter I will also tell you this. After the organization betrayed me and left this world, I tried to continue my research on Somebodies and discovered something interesting.

"This world is connected to only two other worlds, the world from which I believe you and the Organization come from and another, more isolated, world then our own. From the papers and legends I found that it is believed that this world possesses a type of Crystal Magic that is unique to that world alone. I don't know if this world and it's magic can help you on your quest but I can at least tell you the location of the Puppet and the keyhole. It is a small price to pay to have gotten my daughter back."

He gestured to one of the officers that brought Sora a small transparent bag with a large bronze key within it and a piece of torn paper with numbers written across its surface.

"Now that I've been incarcerated the state or my daughter have inherited all my property however that key is the key to my lab at the **Fransokyo Institute of Technology**. Officials have already searched the place but being part of the school it will eventually go to the professor that will follow me. For now all my research is there, including the prototype you search, it's in compartment PI."

Sora gripped the plastic bag in his hand, he was another step closer to getting what was needed to get Roxas back. When this was over, if his side did win, he'd find a way to get Xion and Namine back. But, one step at a time.

"And the keyhole?"

"On that paper are the coordinates to what you seek, with the keyblade you should be able to find it without much problems."

"Thank you," Sora said, looking at the man before him, he had gentle eyes and wrinkles around his face as if he used to smile and laugh a lot. "You were a good man once, weren't you?"

"Yes, I believe I was," Callaghan slowly answered, " When I first met Hiro I was a good man. However, when my daughter was taken from me, that good man was sent to war and I started a path I cannot come back from." The Callaghan gave Sora a hard look, "Be Careful the same faith does not happen to you, Sora."

Sora wasn't sure when the doctors were going to discharge him, all his injuries had long since faded now and that truly baffled them. However, they insisted on keeping him for observation.

Sora had spent enough time here, though.

About an hour after the night nurse told them that it was lights out, Sora crept out of bed- thank goodness they had disconnected him from the machines, that would have caused some problems. He found his clothes in a cupboard beside his bed and quickly put them on, trying not to wake up anyone in the ward. The constant hum of people snoring reassured him that everything was going well.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sora almost jumped out of his skin as he turned to see Gogo casually leaning against the ward's door frame, she was chewing gum with her arms crossed. Hiro was standing beside her, still in his gown and sling.

"How did you guys …?" began Sora.

"We overheard your conversation with Callaghan." Gogo shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Thought you'd try set off tonight."

"So you're here to try stop me?" Sora took a weary step backward.

Hiro shook his head, "You helped us out of an impossible situation so it's our turn to help you."

"C'mon before the nurse comes round. Wasabi's got the car ready." said Gogo casually pushing off the frame and walking into the dark corridors.

"Wait?! Wasabi's here too?" Sora whispered as he started to run after her but he stopped as he was about cross Hiro.

"I can't come with you for now," admitted Hiro, "but come back here when Baymax is all fixed up, ok?"

Sora smiled down at the teenager, "You've got it."

And with that Sora ran through the darkness after Gogo.

Wasabi wasn't the only one in the car, the rest of the Nerd Herd was also there, chatting excitedly at their little getaway. Sora was sitting between Honey Lemon and Fred as Wasabi drove at a legally acceptable speed and Gogo complained that they were going too slow.

"35.9375° N, 14.3754° E." murmured Honey Lemon, as she read what was written on the paper Callaghan had given Sora in the light of her mobile phone. "Those are coordinates somewhere in San Fransokyo for sure."

"Do you know where though?" Eagerly asked sora.

The blonde just shook her head, "We can use one of the computers at the institute, that will tell where to go."

The institute was deserted except for a sole security guard that was busy reading the San Fransokyo Herold, an image of Hiro and Baymax fighting the masked Callaghan had made the headline. Wasabi and the gang showed him their student IDs and without a even a word the guard returned to reading, letting them into the institute.

"They're used to us working here late." Admitted Wasabi, sheepishly, as the group led Sora through the maze-like corridors, the lights automatically switching on as they passed. The group only stopped when they reached a tinted glass door, the name "Callaghan" neatly etched at eye-level.

Using the key, the door swung open into a lab so large it put the Nerd Herd's to shame. Unfinished creations lay haphazardly across the lab, most in designated areas. Piles of papers and beakers covered almost every other surface.

"He said that what I'm looking for is in cubicle P1…" began Sora as his eyes began to dart from one cubicle to another, each one decorated with its own number and letter combination.

"So we'll find the coordinates for you." suggested Honey Lemon pointing at a computer on one of the tables, "Our student logins should let as do that much at least."

Sora nodded his head and the group temporarily split up. Cubical P1 was the same as all the others but when he went in Sora thought this must be emptiest cubicle in Callaghan's lab. The walls and floors were clear of everything except for the Puppet but that in itself was creepy. It stood on its feet and wore a black coat but it's face was nuzzled into it's chest as if asleep. On closer inspection, Sora noticed that it had no characteristic features. It's hair was black and just coated it's skulp, it's lips so pale they almost merged with the rest of its face, and it's eyes were closed shut. The keyblade welder wondered if Roxas would still look like that if he was merged with the Puppet, if he did, Sora would have to apologize for that.

With little effort Sora draped the Puppet around his shoulders, it was light as feather though being life-sized would prove problematic to move around with but, Sora would just have to adjust.

With a little difficulty he made his way to the computer where the others were waiting.

"Please don't tell me that's a dead body." shouted Wasabi averting his eyes, Honey Lemon too, looked a bit greener in the face.

Sora shook his head, adjusting the puppet on his shoulders, "This was one of Callaghan's experiments- creating artificial bodies called Puppets. I need it to help a friend."

"We won't ask so we won't judge." Gogo casually said, "We checked those coordinates for you by the way. San Fransokyo Bridge." and without another word she began to lead the way back towards the parking lot.

Honey Lemon offered her help to carry the Puppet but Sora declined.

"This person must be a good friend if you're doing so much to help him."

Sora wondered about this the whole car ride to the bridge. There were many reasons why he wanted to bring Roxas back- most importantly to find Aqua, he also had to admit he felt guilty that Roxas could no longer exist because of him. But could it be, that during the weeks the two boys had been conversing and arguing on that Destiny Islands within Sora, the latter had began to consider Roxas as a friend?

"This is the place!" called Wasabi, parking the car on the bridge. At this time, even this red suspension bridge was deserted.

With a bit of scuffling and rearrangement the group got out of the car, the Puppet secure around Sora's shoulders and the Keyblade in his hand. It began to hum in his grip as the others watched in intrigued silence as Sora opened the keyhole. Instantly a blast of icy wind washed over.

"Sora!" called Honey Lemon from behind, causing him to turn. "We don't know much about your quest…"

"But we're certain it will be hard and difficult." Added Wasabi.

"But remember, if you ever need help, San Fransokyo will always have your back." said Gogo, giving Sora a rare smile.

"Or you know, a couch to crash on." added Fred, causing his friends to roll their eyes.

Sora smiled back at them, "Got it!" he called before taking a deep breath and taking a step through the portal.

 **AND CHAPTER 10 IS FINALLY DONE! You guys would not believe how many times I tried to write this chapter. I have so many different versions but this was the most acceptable thing I could menage. But, I hope you guys liked the final version. I'll try to update ASAP and remember reviews are always welcome! Until next time and remember, may your heart be your guiding key- LunaPendragon.**


	11. Arendelle

Have you ever had that feeling that instantly after doing something you regret it? That's the feeling that gripped Sora's stomach as he emerged into this new world. During those fe seconds, that felt like full minutes, the cold air that nibbed as his nose didn't bother him, nor the icy flakes that were blown into his hair. But what he did notice was the lack of ground under his feet and the tug of gravity on his gut. Before he could even register any of this in his mind, time sped up and he was plummeting to the ground below.

Fortunately, it wasn't a very high drop.

Unfortunately, he landed on something that made an undignified "hoof".

No, not something… someone.

"Get off me!" yelled a muffled voice from under Sora as gloved hands roughly pushed him back on his feet. Their grip was like iron.

"Hey!" protested Sora, looking around him, he had lost the puppet and keyblade during the fall and they laid on the steps of a frost covered throne like some misused toys.

"Explain the meaning of this!" yelled the person Sora had unintentionally used as a landing mat- a tall, fair skinned man with auburn hair and green eyes that smoldered with anger. Goosebumps ran up Sora's arms but he doubted it was due to the cold.

"Oh, I was just dropping by…" loughed Sora, his eyes drifting towards the portal that was still hovering above. The same portal had lead him to a throne room that might have been beautiful once, had it not been covered in thick layers of ice, snow and frost. Even then their was something alluring about it's wild jaggedness.

The man, anger still radiating from his eyes, unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Sora, almost touching it to his nose. The teenager gulped, there was no joking around with this unnamed man.

"I...I'm here to help my friend." He carefully answered, he couldn't tell him he came from another world, that could be catastrophic!

The man's eyes gestured to the Puppet on the floor. A guard in a navy blue coat marched towards the puppet and put two fingers on the puppet's neck. After a few seconds the guard solemnly shook his head.

"Your friend no longer lives."

"Oh, that's ok, that's why I'm here. I heard about some crystal magic stuff that could help me get him back." Sora tried to shrug but it was difficult to do while being restrained.

"Crystal magic…?" The man's voice faltered slightly. "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

"I'm Sora and I… kinda move around alot." He tried to answer, for some reasons he got the feeling he and this man weren't going to become friends anytime soon. "And you?"

"I am the reagent king of Arendelle, King Hans." The man proudly replied, pushing out his chest slightly.

"Arendelle?"

The man gestured around him produly.

"A bit chilly don't you think?" Joked Sora as he looked up at the portal. He had to get that closed somehow. The man's eyes narrowed.

"It wasn't always so, the previous queen put a curse on my fiancee and this land for it to live in perpetual ice and snow."

"Curse? I'm good with breaking curses." admitted Sora, flexing his fingers, he had to call the keyblade to him and get that portal closed.

Hans gave a humourless laugh that set a chill down Sora's spine. Now it hit Sora why he felt so unsettled and hostile towards this man, the same feeling of darkness radiated from his being like that of Maleficent or Pete, of a heart not consumed by the darkness but one hungering for it.

"A mere child such as yourself? What use could you be to us?"

"Well…" with a small flick of his hand, the keyblade vansiehd from the throne steps and in a collage of light reappeared in his grasp. Shocked, the guards didn't even react when he elbowed them in the stomach and freed himself.

"What? Stop him!" yelled Hans as Sora spun on his feet and pointed the blade at the portal, it swirled closed. The guards circled around him, their swords bared, their breath coming out in white puffs. Although they were armed Sora could see the fear and confusion in their eyes. The fight was over before it even started.

With movement so swift he could barely be seen by the naked eye, the guards crumpled to the floor. He didn't hurt them, he made sure of that, except maybe their pride. A small smile played on his lips, "Who's next?"

"Drop your weapon!" yelled Hans, Sora turned and the smile vanished, Hans had the Puppet gripped from it's silver hair, the sword edge pressed against its pale neck. "I don't know what you want with this thing but I assume you'd prefer the head to be attached to the body, correct?"

Sora narrowed his eyes.

"Drop the weapon." Hans repeated.

Grudgingly, he droped the keyblade , he even kicked it towards one of the groaning guards.

"Give him back." he demanded,

Hans looked up to where the portal once hovered."what was that thing?"

"I told you I move around a lot."

"Magic?"

"Something of the sorts."

Hans looked momentarily in thought but his sword never left the Puppet's throat. With the keyblade sora could have beaten this guy, no problem, but he couldn't risk damaging the puppet. How could he ever explain that to Roxas and the others that he decapitated their sole means of freedom?

"Give him back." Sora repeated, the guards had begun to stumble back on their feet.

"Oh, I'll give him back, but you have to do something for me first."Sora narrowed his at the older man but he listened, "I've got a real thorn in my side, an icy one to boot. You see my fiancée was the second princess of Arendelle, her sister is the coronated queen but she's a witch that covered this realm in ice."

"And your fiancée?"

"Oh, her too." Hans continued, not giving the fiancée a second thought. "For me to become acknowledged as the true ruler of this land I need her out of the picture and get this place back to its former glory… then maybe my _beloved_ with awake too. " he said the word 'beloved' like you'd say the word cockroach, with both contempt and disgust.

"Do you want me to capture her and bring her here?" Sora said, through bared teeth, he was right not to have liked this person before.

"No, I want you to kill her." He said it as if it was a simple as going to the market to buy some bread.

"I don't kill for whims."

"Well you either kill her or I kill him." threatened Hans, pressing the blade even closer to the puppet's neck.

"Why don't you do it?"

"What would the people think if they heard that their regent and future king murdered their current queen? Even if she is a monster, they'd revolt." Hans shook his head, "But, if they hear some unknown hero from another land freed us from her grasp…"

Sora crossed his arms, deep in thought, he refused to kill her, even if Hans said she was responsible for the cold temperament of the world. Sora believed the guy as far as he could throw him, but he also had to get the Puppet back…

"Fine." He said it as if releasing a breath, "tell me where to go."

A sinister grin spread across Hans' face. "Travel north, there's a castle made of red ice, that's where you'll find her."

Sora paused, making a plan.

"And what's her name?"

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle." The regent king spat.

 **And there's another chapter! What did you guys think? I really hope you guys are enjoying the story and it isn't getting too long or boring :3 Feel free to review, they are more than welcome! Thanks again for reading and I'll try update ASAP. Until then, may your heart be your guiding key- Luna Pendragon.**


	12. Elsa

Sora wrapped the cloak closer around himself as the frosty wind berated him with hail and snow, with each step he sank to his calves, filling his shoes and socks with the biting snow. Hans' guards had done him a real favor by lending him this cloak, his usual attire would have been useless under such conditions- he would have become a Sora-popsicle by now!

He bowed his head against the wind in an attempt to prevent his nose and ears from going numb as the tip of his toe came into contact with something cold and hard. Through narrowed eyes he could make out a staircase crafted out of ice, it was both beautiful and chilling. Not a kink of a chisel or the mark of mold could be seen, as if the staircase had been created as nature intended it to. Although it may appear plain, a deeper pattern could be seen by an observant eye, of veins and shard trapped within the flight of stairs that led to his destination. What gave the staircase it's unwelcoming feeling however, was the fact that it seemed to be made of glowing, red ice.

Sora stood for a second at the bottom of the staircase fighting against the wind to catch a glimpse of his destination above, a magnificent castle composed of towers and balconies that stood, like a stalagmite, on a flat part of the mountain overlooking Arendelle like some crimson sentinel.

A shiver ran down his spine, which he doubted was caused by the cold. He wasn't sure which one he'd rather confront, Hans or the mysterious ice queen inside that palace.

"You have to get that Puppet back." he told himself as he took that first step onto the staircase.

With each step he took the wind battered him back as if warning him to turn back, to leave not only this castle, but also Arendelle and this whole quest. Sora gritted his teeth against it and continued to climb, taking care not to slip with each step he took. Eventually, his foot sank into the knee-deep snow. However, he staggered sideways against the wind and fell into the soft snow.

The wind might have just saved Sora's life.

An eruption exploded at the head of the stairs where he had been standing only seconds before. Snow and rock showered over the young Keyblade wielder. For a moment it seemed like the world went silent, even the wind was hushed as the first cracks appeared across the first step and like a cascading effect it grew and branched and webbed out like something created by a hideous spider. For an instant the cracking seemed to stop as if, somehow, the bridge was holding on to some inkling to survive.

But then it let go and the the sound of the wind and shattering ice filled the air once again.

Sora rolled in the snow again as another explosion erupted where he had been lying.

What was going on?

What was attacking?

He tried to get onto his feet but he simply slipped back on the frozen ground but at least now he knew what was attacking him. A Blizzard Lord- an obese, humanoid Heartless, but with a peculiarly thin upper body. Its real body was dark-colored like other Heartless but was almost entirely enveloped in a translucent, blue, shell made of jagged ice.

Only the Heartless's face was left uncovered, exposing a spherical, pitch-black head and glowing, yellow eyes. The top of its head was decorated with several ice crystals and was wearing a flowing, light blue cape that was attached to a thick, black and light blue-striped collar. It was carrying a navy blue staff with ornate, light blue ice crystals decorating both ends and its tip was glowing a faint blue color.

Sora cursed under his breath as he once again rolled out of the way of a blast.

With a swift motion Sora jumped to his feet, paying careful attention not to slip. The Heartless was standing only a few feet before him, illuminated by the reddish light of the castle. Sora released a breath as he willed the Keyblade to appear within his grasp, the breath came out as a puff of white steam that was instantly blown away by the wind.

The Blizzard Lord raised his staff, ready to send another icy blast but, ignoring the iciness of the ground Sora ran towards it and leaped into the air, getting showered in icy dust as the heartless disintegrated upon contact with the Keyblade. Another blast from behind sent Sora spiraling towards the entrance of the castle. With a muffled groan he pushed himself back up just to see almost two dozen more Blizzard Lords bobbing towards him, emerging from the frosty shadows.

Where had they all come from?

He gripped the Keyblade, his eyes scanning the Heartless before him. His heart was pounding, there was no way out of this, and he couldn't fight them all, not alone anyway. So, with a careful step, he turned to face the entrance of the castle. At that moment the swarm of Heartless seemed much more inviting but he had a task to do. He had to get that Puppet back and he wasn't going to lose so soon after he found it. Keeping an eye on the advancing monsters he ran in.

The interior of the ice palace might have been beautiful once, with intricate patterns etched into the ice walls and the spiral staircase that led up and deeper into the palace. A chandelier of ice crystals was the sole decoration in the room and it was magnificent. However, just like the outside, even in here, the ice was all stained red.

Sora looked around him trying to decide what to do when a voice shrieked from around him.

"Get out!" It shrilled so loudly the chandelier shivered above Sora's head.

Panting slightly, Sora looked around him trying to identify the source of the sound. When he found her, goosebumps spread all across his body. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, with pale skin and hair escaping from the braid it was meant to be in. Her dress was long and seemed to shimmer with shades of grey and purple, a ripped cape followed in her wake as she took a step out of the shadows. But her eyes flashed an unnatural shade of purple as they locked on his and wisps of darkness hovered around her like animated wind.

"Get out!" she yelled again continuing to walk towards Sora her bare hands raised towards him. The chandelier shook once again and Sora took a hesitant step back, his head switching between the woman before him and the Heartless behind him. He had to get out of here but the only way out was blocked and the darkness being emitted from the woman was stifling.

His eyes fell on the spiral staircase, it was the only way.

With one more glance towards the Heartless behind him he made a sprint towards the staircase.

"Nooooooo!" shrieked the woman, waving her hand and causing the chandelier to come raining down, each crystal a deadly dagger. But using the Keyblade Sora blocked the worst of the attack and began to climb up the stairs, dodging the ice spikes that mysteriously appeared before each step he took. The woman's shrieks echoed around him. He wouldn't have long, she'd follow in no time.

He was half way up when a new sound filled the air, that of high heels hitting ice. Sora dared a glance behind him and gasped, picking up his pace. The shrieking woman had began her ascent after him but where the Heartless had once been advancing, they now stood unmoving, frozen and encased in a layer of ice so thick not even the Blizzard Lords could escape it.

The Keyblade wielder was panting so badly he didn't stop in time as he reached the top of the stairs and crashed into something large and cold. He staggered sideways and a scream erupted from somewhere in the room. Sora panicked for a moment, had the woman caught up with him already? No this scream had come from in front of him not behind, and it sounded different, more terrified than terrifying.

He sidestepped what he crashed into but if he dared focus hard enough he would have sworn there was someone encased in the ice, a broad man with messy blond hair. But that was another problem for another time, he assumed, as his eyes then focused on the source of the scream.

It was a child, I little girl to be more exact. She was small, no older than eight, with platinum blond hair and large frightened blue eyes. She was wearing a dark blue nightgown and was barefoot though Sora doubted her shivering was due to the cold.

"Whoa there." Sora took a step towards her, causing the child to take a step away, her frightened eyes focusing on the Keyblade still in his hand. Carefully, he lowered the weapon and took another step towards her. "I'm not going to hurt you." Sora told her reassuringly. She didn't move back as he walked towards her but he noticed her shoulders were tense, like a hare ready to flee. "What's your name? What are you doing here?"

Sora was acutely aware of the woman's shrieking behind him getting ever louder but although every fiber in his body told him to run he couldn't leave this little girl here, alone and undefended.

The girl hesitated for a moment and still shivering, she answered. "My name is Elsa."

 **And that's another chapter done! I'm so sorry guy it took me so long to update I've been trying to write this for weeks but I've been finding it terribly difficult to find the time to write. I'm so sorry and thank you so much for being so patient with me. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long to be written and that this was worth the wait. Thank so much for reading, and remember may your heart be your guiding light- LunaPendragon**


	13. Frozen

At the girl's words Sora's mind just crashed. He had all but accepted that the crazy lady behind him was the witch Hans sent him after. He never expected Elsa to be a child that barely reached his waist.

"You're queen Elsa?" Sora felt numb, he didn't even wait for the child to answer, he turned . The clicking of heels had stopped, the crazy one had arrived. She glared at Sora with flashing reddish violet eyes. Her blond hair was a mess around her head and streaked with pink. Sora caught his breath as he once again realised just how beautiful the woman before him might have been is the aura of darkness that surrounded her didn't want to make him puke. Protectively he pushed Elsa behind him and he pointed the keyblade at the older woman. Sora could feel Elsa shivering as she gripped the back of his jacket and buried her face in it as if such an act would keep the monsters away.

The woman stopped in her advancement, her shoulders heaving with each breath she took, her pupils were small giving her a rather deranged look. Sora quickly looked around him trying to find away to escape. The room was circular with a number doorways leading into the darkness while one entrance had a crystalline window that led to a balcony. Another deadly chandelier hovered above them, ready to impale the two at the ice witch's command. Three ice statues decorated the room. With a sinking feeling the keyblade wielder realised they weren't actually statues but creatures encased in ice, like the heartless downstairs. One, the one sora had initially crashed into, held a bearly blond man in a funny hat, another held what looked like a reindeer and the last and smallest one seemed to hold a snowman that, even in the face of its impending freeze still had a smile on its face.

"Stay away from us!" yelled Sora waving his weapon and taking a step back but unable to do more with Elsa clutching his back.

"Get out of here!" yelled the woman. Sora felt Elsa whisper something into his back but it was too low for him to hear.

"I can't because things keep chasing me around!" Sora yelled back, only half joking.

"This is my home!" the woman yelled again the woman. "Get out!"

Elsa continued to mumble into his jacket, maybe she was saying a prayer for a quick end? He had to think, Sora continued to look around trying to find a way out. Who knew what lurked in the dark corridors of this castle and the balcony was too far away, they'd be zapped before they even reached the center of the room.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, trying to distract her and buy some time.

The woman took so long to reply that Sora thought she might not but, with the sanest voice he had yet heard her use she answered, "I'm queen Elsa of Arendelle."

"What?!" yelled Sora both mentally and physically. How could that be? Elsa was the little girl fearfully clutching his jacket. Could it be that the name was just so common in Arendelle?

He doubted it.

"Elsa?" Sora carefully craned his neck to look at the child, still frightened that the woman might pounce. "What does she mean? " he paused and asked another question, "why are you here?"

Reluclantly the girl unpressed her face from his back. Her cheeks were red and her eyes and nose were running.

"This is my home." Pleaded the child with tear streaked eyes,

"This is my home." shrieked the woman as the same time.

How can his be? But the two continued to speak together, saying the same words at the same time and speed. It was so unnerving you might have thought they were the same person.

"She's a monster!" the two explained pointing at each other, "She hurt her sister and all of Arendelle. All this cold and darkness… all this pain and suffering," the two gestured at the frozen figures at this point. "It's all her fault. She's a monster!"

What if they were the same person?

But how could it be? How could Elsa have split up into two such different characters?

"She's a monster!" the two stated again. "It's all her fault this happened. She was weak! Unable to control her curse and now a curse has fallen on this land and my sister lyrics frozen. It's all her fault that this happened!"

Sora took a hesitant step away from the child, trying to think. What if the sister's freezing sent Elsa to the darkness? Classic case. But what if, when that happened the darkness couldn't engulf her heart fully? A shred of Light, albeit frightened, still existed. Such an unnatural mixture wouldn't be allowed, they would have been forced apart. That was the only explanation why Sora had two very different Elsas before him.

"I-I'm sure you didn't mean to freeze your sister." said Sora still trying to think of a way out of this situation.

"Of course I didn't!" both girls shrieked, their voices so shrill the chandelier shivered above them.

"Fine, fine!" yelled Sora over their shrieks trying to quiet them down. "You said this was a curse, right? Well there is always a way to break a curse."

"An act of true love." the two instantly answered, but young Elsa narrowed her eyes, "But how could such a monster show any form of love?" This was the first thing Sora heard the young girl say without her older counterpart's contribution.

"Well, Little girl, it was your fault Anna got hurt the first time!" yelled older Elsa, also alone. The two shot daggers at each other with their eyes, causing Sora to take a number of speedy steps away from both of them. He got the feeling he'd started something that could go horribly wrong.

"I was only a kid." defended little Elsa.

"You were so frightened you shut her out!" taunted the older version taking a steady foot towards her.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled raising her arms and sending a snowball magically flying towards her older counterpart. She just swatted it away like it was a fly.

"You were a frightened child hiding behind royal parents." taunted the woman sending a blizzard to sweep the child off her feet. But quickly young Elsa froze the bottom of her feet to the ground stopping her from being swept back,

"I did it to protect my kingdom… and my sister!" she sent a crystalized ball at the older woman who just dodged it and continued to walk toward the girl (who was now having difficulty unsticking her feet)

"You were frightened of how they would look at you. That they would see the monster that slept within you." the woman sent an icy dagger attack flying toward the girl who barely redirected it from where she stood, still stuck.

Young Elsa tried to to send the shower of daggers towards the woman but they clattered to the ground harmlessly ,each one having missed their mark.

"You were scared that they'd see the real you," Continued the woman advancing on the girl, "Too weak. Too Frightened. How were you meant to lead and protect them? You would simply doom them all. " the woman stopped exactly in front of the girl. "As you already have."

Sora raised the keyblade though he wasn't sure what he was meant to do. This looked like an internal struggle of Elsa's he should not get involved in. Only one side would win and sadly the Dark Side was winning.

The woman raised her hand and a jagged spear appeared in it, it's tip pointed at the frightened girl chest. "This is the end of you." Spat the woman lowering her hand.

"No!" yelled Sora but before he could even take a step a cold wave sent him spiraling onto the ground. Young Elsa had her own hand raised, a silvery shield surrounded her, blocking the older woman's attack. The latter looked down at the child in confusion.

"Fine!" Yelled the child, causing the shield to disintegrate. "I was frightened and scared and alone. I hid myself from my sister and my people for fear they'd see a monster- but not any more!" with a gesture she caused the the woman's feet to be encased in ice from the knees down, making her unable to move. "So be it if they see me only as a monster." the child calmly continued raising her hand, a small smooth dagger appeared there. "I will save this land and my sister!"

The second the tip of the dagger touched the woman she disnitningerated into dark icy flakes that swarmed around the girl blocking her from view. She was soon encased in a dark icy stormy that slowly began to fade into a light blue. After a few seconds the ice exploded out washing over Sora like a soft winter breeze.

He blinked as he saw the ice surrounding the closest prisoners, the reindeer slowly begin to disintegrate away. The redness of the palace too began to fade then he turned back to where the Elsas once stood.

She was breathtaking. Standing tall, her head held high. A beautiful light blue dress and cape surrounded her. Her platinum hair braided with snowflakes. Her large blue eyes filled with determination. Before Sora stood the real queen of Arendelle.

 **Hey guys! I'm so so sorry i've taken so long to write this chapter but i'm work on my final year project and it's taking a lot more time than expected :(. SO what do you think? Was the chapter worth the wait? Feel free to leave a review, they are always more than welcome. I'll get going on that next chapter asap but until them may your heart be your guiding light - Luna Pendragon.**


	14. Vanitas

Over the last few years Sora had been to a number of worlds. He'd crossed the deserts of Agrabah and danced through enchanted ballrooms. He'd sung under the sea and even turned into a lion cub on one occasion but, in retrospect, none caused Sora as much trouble as the frosty world of Arendelle. The workings of this place truly confounded him and it really felt that with, or without him, this particular world would have menaged perfectly fine if left to its own devices. True, the Heartless did roam its surface but they were no match for the world's resident Ice Queen.

Things had escalated quickly in the few hours since Elsa's breakdown had subsided. The frozen prisoners that had once decorated her hall had long since defrosted and it was with this particular group of people that Sora now fought through the palace throne room with.

This was the same room Sora had first entered this world through. In some ways it hadn't changed, ancient tapestries portraying natural landscapes covered one wall while massive windows with glass in hues of green and violet decorated the other. The two elegantly carved thrones were also there, their beauty diminished by the brooding light.

However where before the thrones had been bare each one now bore an unwilling occupant. On the larger of the two sat a woman made of aquamarine crystal. In the dimness Sora could barely make out any of her features however it appeared that her hair was separated into braids. She might have been beautiful like her sister but Princess Anna's face was frozen in a sorrowful expression that was clear as day to make out. On the smaller throne the Puppet sat, its black Organization XIII hood covered most of its face and its head was lolled as if it had been put under some sleeping curse.

In front of the two thrones a duel was taking place, one fought for the crown of Arendelle, the other for her sister's life. Queen Elsa stood with her arms outstretched blasting a continuous stream of icy magic at a panting Hans who was effectively dodging. A number of blue cloaked heartless were also giving him a helping hand, their twitching bodies absorbing the queen's attacks and redirecting back at her. It was a good thing the cold didn't bother her anyway.

In another corner a buff man with golden hair, Christoff, was swinging his fists as Heartless swarmed around him, they were unable to redirect his strikes but they could overpower him with sheer numbers. However a rather clumsy reindeer stopped that from happening as it ploughed through the swarm, Olaf the snowman cheering and waving from its back.

Sora's bright eyes once again fell on the throne were the puppet sat. He was so close to getting it back but a push from his opponent brought him swiftly back to his own battle.

Vanitas.

It still eluded Sora how he knew the masked youth's name, he was certain he would not have forgotten such a foe so efficiently.

Vanitas

Why did the name alone fill him with such a palpable sense of dread and fear even though he knew that they'd never met before?

Venitas slashed back with his dark keyblade, forcefully pushing Sora's own weapon back. But the youth dodged before the masked person could strike again, fainting in the process and attempting to stab him in the side.

Vanitas made disappointment click as he easily dodged Sora's strike and continued with his own relentless attack.

"Still so naive about what's really going on here." Venitas slashed his weapon and Sora blocked trying to push his opponent back. However he had to break his hold to swipe at a group of Heartless that had made to attack him from behind.

"Vanitas… how do I know?" Sora panted as he spoke, swinging as more Heartless swarmed around him.

"Oh I knew you in a past life." Vanitas spoke as if it were joke that he alone knew the punchline of.

"Roxas?" But Sora was silenced as Vanitas shook his head and swept his blade before him, causing the Heartless to disintegrate with a small squeal.

"Oh, further back then that, ain't that right Ven?"

"How are you here Vanitas?" said Sora, though he faltered in his step. He had not decided to say that.

"Oh, I've come for you of course." Vanitas shrugged as he aimed for Sora's ankles, causing the latter to jump sideways . "Although plans change the end result is still the same."

Sora grunted as he took in the youth's words, what was he saying? Was he referring to Xehanort's plan? If so, did this past 'self' have something to do with Kingdom Hearts? Did he have something to do with the lost Keyblade Master?

What was Sora's link to that time?

Trying to shake off these thoughts Sora charged at Vanitas again and fainted upwards, aiming for Vanitas's had. However the latter was not fooled, the latter crushed his elbow with the top of sora's head. The rusty taste of blood filled his mouth as he staggered a step forward, crashing to the ground.

Without mercy Vanitas crushed Sora's hand under his foot, causing him to grunt and release the keyblade that was then carelessly kicked away.

"It's nothing personal, kid." Calmly explained Vanitas, pulling at sora's shirt so that he was now looking up at the masked man, his own eyes reflecting back. " I just need that Heart that sleeps in yours."

As he spoke a dark glow began to radiate from Vanitas free hand and Sora felt an unpleasant tug in his chest, as if the gravity in the room had somehow shifted.

Sora tried to free himself with his free hands but Vanitas grip was like steel "What are you trying to doing?!"

"Sora, duck!" a woman's voice called from behind and without another thought Sora forced his body to go slack as an aquamarine blast of light passed over him, washing his face in its chilled blue light and blasting Vanitas in the chest, sending him flying into a wall across the room.

Sora was pulled to his feet, his heart pounding as he turned to face his rescuer. Elsa was standing before the throne, her shoulders were heaving and behind her he could see Hans struggling against a giant chunk of ice that had frozen his feet to the ground. His sword lied out of his reach and, for reasons unknown to Sora, the girl who had been frozen was slowly regaining her colour.

"Thanks your majesty." He yelled as he called the keyblade back to his grip and turned to where Vanitas was sliding to the ground, the glass of his helmet a web of cracks. Christoff, Olaf and Sven were waiting a safe distance away as Sora proudly noted that most of the Heartless had been vanquished. The remaining few were retreating into the shadows.

Cautiously Sora ran towards the small group. Elsa remained by the throne helping her defrosting sister as Hans colourly swore and struggled against his restraints.

Vanitas rubbed the top of his helmet, as if that would help dull the pain but as he raised his head a shard of glass fell from the helmet and Sora caught his breath, a single amber eye looked back at him- just like Xehanort's.

Vanitas looked around him calmly.

"It seems my time in this world is up." He noted, sounding bored. "Your puny friends always cause me some trouble. We'll have to meet again, alone next time."

Vanitas raised his hand and a dark swirling portal appeared behind him. "Don't miss me too much Ventus, we'll meet soon." And with that Vanitas vanished with the portal.

"Who was that guy?" asked Olaf from Sven's back, his head was attached the wrong way. "He seemed nice."

Sora just shook his head. That was only one of the many questions Sora had.

"C-Christoff?" a soft voice brought Sora back to reality.

"Anna!" bellowed Christoff as he rushed away from the group towards the throne where a freckled girl with strawberry blonde hair was embracing Elsa. Her cheeks were flushed and a broad smile spread across her face as she saw the young man charge towards her.

With a soft smile Elsa let go of her sister who ran towards the blond. Overjoyed Christoff lifted her off the ground before quickly putting her back on her feet and giving Elsa a sheepish smile.

"Princess Anna!" chirped Olaf laughing as Hans, from his prison, made a fake gagging motion behind the queen.

Anna knelt down to speak to the snowman as she fixed his head in the right direction. A soft, chill spread up Sora's spine as he turned to see the queen standing a few steps behind him, a small smile playing on her face.

"It seems it all turned out for the best, somehow." Said Sora as he caused his weapon to disappear, he casually crossed his hands as he spoke, which he later thought wasn't the best edicate when addressing a queen.

"Arendelle is in your debt." she calmly said, bowing her head in acknowledgement.

"Oh trust me, I didn't do anything." Admitted Sora averting his eyes. "You guys would have managed without me."

But Elsa shook her head knowingly, causing him to look up. "Our success is only because you allowed me to face my demons."

"I only ran up a flight of stairs."

"Not all necessary deeds must be heroic."

"If you say so."

Elsa waved her hand, as if shooing away the topic. "Whatever you might think, you are a hero of Arendelle, our doors will always be open to you. Whatever you need, we will provide, if we can."

Sora looked past her, where the cloaked puppet still sat, undisturbed throughout the whole battle and it dawned on him why he had initially come to this world before he had been forced on some useless side mission.

"Actually, I do need your help."

"If it's in my power."

"Well I heard this… place… has a type of Crystal Magic that might be able to help me get my friend back…" Sora gestured to puppet vaguely.

Elsa looked at her hands as a few snowflakes fluttered over her finger tips. "Magic had been outlawed throughout this land many centuries ago." Sora's face must have looked crestfallen because she quickly continued to explain. "However the troll's might be able to help you."

"Did you say trolls?" the pair turned to see Anna stepping towards them, her skirt fluttering around her as she walked. "Those are Christoff's family."

Christoff shrugged, though his cheeks became a little redder.

"Oh that's awesome!" yelled Sora joyously, "Do you think you could tell me how to find them?"

"No need, I'll take you." he answered, smiling, "It's the least I can do after you helped us."

"You sure though?" Sora turned towards the siblings.

"You helped save me and our KIngdom." Laughed Anna.

"Speaking of which, we have to make sure our subjects are alright after Hans's day as king." Added Elsa.

"We'll be back in a jiffy." though Christoff said it more to Anna then anyone else.

'Road Trip!" Yelled Olaf, hugging one of Sven's legs.

Sora smiled at the group. He wanted to be happy for their success but too many questioned haunted him…

Who was Vanitas?

How did he link in with Xehanort's plan?

And one the continued to surface… who was Ventus?

 **Hi! Long time no write and sorry about that, working on my final year project has been taking up more of my time then I expected but I'll try update a little more frequently. So what did you think about the new chapter? Thanks so much for reading and tell me what you think- Reviews are always welcome! Until next time- LunaPendragon**


	15. Soul

Namine and Xion exchanged exhausted looks as they continued to pull and tug on their respective ores. The water around them was like oil, unchanging except for the little interruption when their wooden paddles broke the surface. The unchanging scenery around them was bathed in a vermillion-red, the same unchanging crimson light that the two girls had begun to associate with the Islands Sora had created for them.

"How are you feeling, Roxas?" asked Xion, wiping the sweat from her brow, the little boat wavered to one side and Namine, too, stopped rowing.

From the front of their little boat, the blond youth raised his head from where it had been hanging over the edge. His skin was an unusual shade of green and his eyes were sunken and, put simply, he didn't look very well.

Self-consciously Roxas kept a gloved hand over his mouth as he spoke, stopping every few words for fear of feeling sick under the boat's gentle movements.

"I'm sorry… I can't be … of more…" he faltered slightly before throwing his head over the edge again. "Help."

Xion tried to suppress a giggle. This was not the time to laugh but she'd worked with Roxas for quite some time and she had seen him overcome unbelievable odds and yet here he was, defeated by something as trivial as seasickness. If only Axel were here, he'd have some sarcastic comment to share with them. Xion quickly pushed away the thought, she couldn't dawdle on what couldn't be changed. That time was long gone.

She looked over her shoulder, Destiny Islands were just a mere dot in the distance now. After Sora's unorthodox arrival the trio were determined to follow the mysterious light to its end, even if that meant crossing the sea but, in the hours since then, the islands had shrunk no further and they seemed to move no closer to the end, the stream of light just kept on going.

"It's never ending." Xion sighed, rubbing her hands together, thank goodness she had her gloves or else her hands would have been useless with all the blisters she'd have by now.

"Maybe we are not meant to find whatever hides at the end." Observed Namine, although she looked tired and worn, her voice was as low and calm as usual.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe the only one that can reach the end is Sora…"

Xion slumped her shoulders. "So all this rowing was for nought?"

"I'm also curious as to what.. Or who… may also be here with us though." Namine admitted.

"Not sure…" Roxas gurgled trying, and failing, to raise his head. "Sora is… probably… clueless."

"No surprise there." laughed Xion, as she looked skyward, a sudden wind blew around them, causing the sea's surface to ripple and the boat rocked violently. Roxas made a rather pained sound.

"What's going on?!" Namine yelled, as the wind picked up and the boat's movement became more unpredictable and violent. The teenagers were tossed from side to side, trying desperately not to get swung over the edge, Roxas's face turned an even deeper shade of green.

"Did something happen to Sora?" Yelled Xion, looking up at the sky again, for some reason the world around them was turning dark- the sky, clouds, even the sea had vanished, all that was left was a stream of bright, white light that shone onto them like some spotlight.

Roxas put a hand over his mouth. "Hope… not…"

But then he fell silent, even the nuasia that had plagued him this whole trip had vanished. The roar of the wind vanished from his ears and the motion of the boat below him disappeared.

There was a tug in his chest as if an invisible hook was pulling him up towards the light.

What was going on?

Why did it feel as if something, or someone, was calling him?

He tried to look up at the light, was that a reflection of himself? It looked back at him but it wasn't him. They shared the same face, the same eyes, the same hair but there was something more real about the face that looked down at him.

The Not-Roxas gave him a knowing smile and reached a hand to him. Without a thought Roxas stretched out his own hand but, as if in some cosmic comedy, they were just out of reach from each other.

"Roxas!" a tug from below caused the face above him to scrunch up in worry before being replaced, once again, by the blinding light. Dazed Roxas looked down, the boat was floating several feet below him now. The tug in his chest was still pulling him upwards but something was now grasping one of his hands, trying to ground him. It was Xion, she was pulling at his hand with both of hers, her face a painting of worry. She was calling his name, though now it was barely audible over the wind that had reemerged when the face in the sky had vanished.

It felt like a thousand balloons were tied to his chest, pulling him up, and something within him told him that he was needed somewhere else, so he did not struggle.

Let go of me.

He wanted to tell Xion that but no sound left his lips. He wanted to let go of her, to keep her safe here within Sora's heart but her grip was like iron around his wrist. So strong was the force pulling him up that even Xion was slowly being pulled into the air. Namine, lost as to what to do, jumped and grabbed on to Xion's ankles finishing off the three-person chain.

But it was useless, the force just pulled the three of them into the sky. Something desperately wanted… no, something needed Roxas to leave Sora's heart.

Had that idiot somehow succeeded in his plan?

Roxas refused to believe that.

Let go of me.

He desperately wanted to tell that to the girls. Roxas hadn't found them and woken them up to drag them into whatever trouble Sora was in- that was his mission.

Let go of me please.

He begged with his eyes as Namine's small feet lost contact with the boat.

Roxas looked up at the blinding light.

This was not good.

Roxas opened his eyes to see a rather pudgy, rock-like thing looking down on him.

"He's awake!" It squeaked, jumping back in surprise.

The youth groaned as he raised a gloved hand to his head, only to hear more screams. Through bleary eyes he could make out even more of those strange creatures surrounding him. At first glance they appeared to be almost like rocks covered in moss but as he blinked he recognised eyes and noses and even stubby little hands and legs. Most even seemed to be wearing simple necklaces adorned with different coloured crystals.

Roxas looked up at the sky, it was almost black with thousands of lights scattered across it. How long had it been since he had last seen the stars? On the Destiny Islands he'd been living on, it had been eternally twilight. He never thought he'd miss the stars so much.

Then, another question came to mind, where was he?

Using his elbows Roxas pushed himself into a sitting position before he looked at his hands. It appeared he was in his usual Organisation XIII coat and gloves. He ran his hands through his hair but it felt totally normal, was he really back in the real world? An unsettling feeling nestled in his stomach.

"Sora?" his voice came out as a croak as he looked around him. At first all he could see were trees and a whole lot of those rock creatures. At the edge of the clearing he could see a buff blond man a little older than him standing beside a reindeer who, for some reason, had a snowman sitting on its back. The three of them were looking at him as if he'd just risen from the dead which, in their defence, might have been the case.

"Wh-where's Sora?" He croaked, wobbling to his feet, he loomed over the creatures that just looked up at him in wonder.

That's when Roxas saw him.

Sora was lying on the frost covered grass, an elderly rock creature had his hands hovering over his chest, a violet crystal clutched in one. He was shaking his head, and murmuring, his brow creased.

Something was wrong.

Sora's face was painfully pale and his chest was so still Roxas almost doubted he was breathing.

"Sora!" He yelled, trying to run to him but, his legs collapsed under him as if he hadn't used them in a very long time. But the creatures shuffled to the sides, clearing a path to Sora's still body, sympathetic looks on their rocky faces. Roxas cursed as he pulled himself to sleeping teen's side, pushing his knees under him.

"What happened?" Roxas, cleared his throat, his voice was almost back to normal now, he could even feel the blood rushing back into his legs. Roxas barely allowed himself to believe but it appeared he was truly back in the real world. However he didn't savour the moment- of seeing the sparkling stars or the cold breeze touch, his eyes fell on Sora's pale face- what had he done to bring him back?

"I warned him." The troll sighed, looking up at Roxas with large, wise eyes. He lowered the crystal. "Something went wrong with the transfer…"

"Transfer?" Roxas echoed the word.

"A soul transfer." The rock troll shook his head. "This child came to me and asked me to perform an ancient piece of magic- to transfer not only a heart sleeping within his own but a portion of his own soul into an empty casing."

"What…?" Roxas shook his head, his mind reeling. Was that Sora's solution? To give him a portion of his own soul? Was this silly plan of his worth the price?

"Magic always has a risk, I warned him… if too much of his own soul, or his own light, is taken only a shell filled with darkness would remain."

"So Sora's light is gone?" Roxas looked back down at the youth.

"It all went into that…" the creature pointed at Roxas's chest, when he looked down he saw that, around his neck, an emerald crystal hung.

"Then take it back!" he begged, clutching the crystal, it was warm to the touch and was glowing dimly between his fingers.

"I'm sorry." The troll shook his head. "If such a magic exists it has been lost to us."

"So Sora is lost!?" yelled Roxas, his heart pounding heavily in his chest, the unsettling feeling deepening within his gut.

"You idiot!" He yelled at the boy lying in the frost, had his chest completely stopped moving? "I warned him not to do this! That idiot!"

But despite his words Roxas could feel tears pricking his eyes, after all this time, after all those fights and all those arguments they'd had, at some point he'd stopped considering Sora as his Somebody, or as someone who had taken his place in the world, but as an actual friend.

"You idiot." Roxas yelled again as he pounded a fist on Sora's unmoving chest.

Roxas caught his breath suddenly, a painful tug pulled at his chest like it was being sucked through a straw. The crystal around his neck, for an instant, glowed slightly brighter. However, the change went unnoticed as, in that instant, while Roxas was still shocked into silence by the sudden pain, Sora's eyes had shot open, his mouth opened and his chest rose as he forced himself to take a breath.

The teenager blinked up at Roxas and, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the pain vanished.

"Sora?" disbelief overflowed from Roxas's voice, the pain already forgotten and replaced with relief.

"Welcome back, Roxas." Sora smiled up at youth, his voice was strained and his skin was still pale, but his breathing was even and strong, his chest rising and falling steadily, "I told you the plan would work."

 **And the he's back! What did you think of Roxas's little return? Thanks so much for reading and please drop me a review, I always love to hear from you guys. I'll try update ASAP and thanks again for reading! :D - Luna Pendragon**


	16. Darkness

Sora felt empty, as if a giant burden he had been carrying for many years had finally been relieved from his heart. He should have felt relieved, lighter, overjoyed as he looked up at Roxas's face. His old enemy was back in flesh and blood. Some form of emotion should have erupted within him as he lied on the frost covered grass, the stars sparkling above without a care for what was happening on that particular world's surface. As the trolls beamed and congregeulated their elder on his successful spell, he should have felt something.

But all their was was emptiness.

He knew that such a thing should have unsettled him, but such emotion seemed beyond him now.

Something had gone wrong with the soul transfer spell.

He remembered falling into darkness. A cold had creeped into his heart as its warmth was forcefully sucked away, given to the puppet he desperately needed to come alive.

He should never have woken up, but a voice- a voice that was both familiar and alien to him, told him now was not his time.

The worlds still needed him.

The voice told him he had to wake up.

So Sora had woken up and smiled and said some silly comment as he saw Roxas's living face. He feigned happiness for the youth's sake for the sake of his unfolding plan. He acted how he knew Roxas would have expected him to- had the void not gripped him so strongly.

 _I wonder, if those hearts where to suddenly leave you, would you approve of the heart they left you with?_

Xehanort's words came to him as he pushed himself into a sitting position, still smiling for his audience's sake.

It would appear Sora would have that particular answer very soon.

"Careful, young one." The old troll put a warm hand on Sora's shoulder, steadying him slightly. His large eyes looked right at him, and there was a sadness there, as if he too knew something was wrong, that something was now missing.

But Sora wouldn't let that stop him now, it couldn't. They were so close, and looking at Roxas, breathing and real beside him, the ends fully justified the means, no matter the price it cost him. This was his atonement to an unfair trade.

"I can't believe you're mad plan worked!" Roxas looked down at his gloved hands, flexing them as if he couldn't believe they were his, before looking back up at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh I'm fine!" Lied Sora, shrugging and getting to his feet, stretching as if he had only just woken from a light nap. "It's you I should be asking."

Roxas stood up carefully, his legs supporting his weight this time and gave Sora a faint smile, the first the latter had ever seen Roxas ever give. "Everything seems to be working fine. It feels like all my fingers and toes are there, I can see in perfect colour and my stomach's growling like it hasn't eaten in awhile… I still can't believe this all worked."

"But we still have work to do." Sora sighed. "I'm sorry to ask this so soon, but you think you can make a portal of Darkness?"

Roxas looked down at his hand and focused , he could feel the power growing within it and, with a small burst of light, a familiar keyblade appeared- Oblivion. "I think so. You want to go so soon? You think you're well enough for the journey?"

Sora laughed lightly. "I'll be fine."

He then turned to Christoff and the trolls around him. "Thanks so much for everything guys, I don't know what I would have done without you."

"And thank you, Sora." Christoff took a step forward as he addressed the younger teen. "Without you Arendelle would have been lost. Remember the queen's words, you will always find sanctuary here."

"And free hugs." Prompted Olaf, encouragingly.

Sora acknowledged these words gratefully before turning to Roxas. "Let's get going, we have a Keyblade Master to save."

Roxas nodded as he waved his free hand in the air, concentrating hard, his hand shaking violently. It had been so long since he'd called on the Darkness, he even had doubts if this new body would permit him the skill and for a moment he feared Sora had gone through all that hardship for nothing. But, with a woosh, a spiral dark portal appeared before the boys.

The trolls took several steps back in surprise, as the coldness of it washed over them. Sora looked into the the engulfing Darkness but still, he felt nothing.

"Be careful," The troll's old voice forced both boys to turn to him, "Many trials still await you, and I fear my part in it may have made things all the more difficult."

"Not a problem." Sora, shrugged off his concern. "Keeps things interesting."

And without another thought, Sora walked into the portal.

Roxas sighed, giving the troll an apologetic look before following Sora into the Darkness, he really had to learn to look before he leaped.

The realm of Darkness could be a disorienting place, composed of monsters and the pieces of worlds that had been engulfed by it. Back in the Organisation Roxas had been told to never underestimate this Realm, although they held power over it, that power was only lent, they were allowed to use it for as long as the Darkness permitted them to do so. They even had to tread lightly within it for the Darkness could quall even the strongest lights without the right protection and strengths.

This was one of Roxas's many fears as he closed the portal behind him. He's knew from experience he was safe as long as he wore his cloak but Sora had no such protection and he was concerned that his once unwavering Heart had been weakened during the Transfer. If they were not careful, Sora would become the Darkness's next victim.

Unconcerned by Roxas's worries, Sora looked at realm around them. They seemed to be in a broken town, the stone was stained black by the Darkness and a familiar emptiness filled the air, like that had now resided within him. However here it was not undisturbed, small blue rocks floated around the cobbled streets like lanterns giving the land an ethereal feel. In the distance the shadow of a crumbling castle stood, a clock face on one of its towers glowed unnaturally, both hands only a short distance away from 12.

"Any idea where we have to go?" Asked Roxas, interrupting the silence. "I doubt you went through all that hassle of bringing me back just so I can create a portal. You told me that this Keyblade Master, this Aqua, is trapped somewhere within this place but that's not really narrowing it down, the Darkness is infinite."

"You're able to navigate this place, right?" Sora remembered from the many conversation they had had. Sora had rarely made it this far into explaining his plan before Roxas put turn it down as impossible.

"Yeah, somewhat. But I need a destination in mind and even with me around, the Darkness will be treacherous and misleading to manoeuvre. We will only go where it wants us to go"

"That's still better than what I heard." Nodded Sora, remembering how Riku and Mickey had told their stories of getting lost in the darkness while in search for the Doors. "And I've got an idea where we can start."

Roxas raised a quizzical eyebrow and Sora continued to explain. "Before, while I was taking my Mark of Mastery test, I saw two people, one of which I recognised to be Aqua from when I was younger. I saw her here, in the Darkness, standing on a barren black shore before a black sea."

Roxas paused, deep in thought but not thinking about the location but more on Sora's words. He had met Aqua when he was just a boy, his link to Kingdom Hearts had been set in motion long before Xehanort's attack on Destiny Islands. It seemed Sora had always been destined to enter this world of adventure and hardship but was this all due to a chance meeting with Aqua? Or was there another underlying, unknown element, playing it's part.

"The Dark Meridian." Roxas finally said, looking up at the still hands of the clock face. "It sounds like that's where this Aqua person was when you saw her."

"Can you lead the way?"

Roxas relculeny nodded his head. "If the Darkness permits it I should be able to but monsters will litter the path."

Sora smiled, causing the Kingdom Key to appear in his gloved hand. "Those don't scare me much."

"That cockiness will get you killed one of these days." Sighed Roxas looking around and leading the way. Like constellations, the fluorescent rock would be his guide.

"As long as I have a friend fighting alongside me I know I'll be fine." Sora casually responded, following the blond.

Thankfully he walked behind Roxas, keeping an eye out for enemies for he would have seen the latter's face redden significantly.

Friends, was that really what the two boys were?

Roxas had resigned himself to the fact that Sora had brought him back for two reasons- to quell his misguided guilt and to aid him in his mission- but had they become friends in the process? Roxas wasn't sure how he felt about that.

The two walked in silence after that, each one vigilant for any sign of attack. The luminescent red eyes of Heartless followed them from the darkness, their bodies indistinct, quivering just out of view but, bizarrely, none attacked, as if they were waiting for a command… or to see how things would unfold...

Sora gripped his weapon even more tightly, he didn't know why but it felt as if they were particularly interested in him.

He had no idea how long they had been walking, time felt inconsistent and fluid, as if the minutes took as long as they wanted to here. The broken village, without either one noticing, had vanished, the ground replaced by a path composed of floating, fluorescent stones but behind them, unchanging, the clock face silently stood, its hands frozen. Had they traveled miles or just a few steps?

Maddening, that's how Sora would have described the Darkness. He had heard of the toils this realm had played on Riku and Mickey during their travels, but they had willingly entered and their time here had been short. But Aqua, she had been dragged into this insanity, with no means of escape for so, so many years... For the first time Sora wondered, in what state they would they find the Keyblade Master?

Sora walked into Roxas, knocked back into reality. He swayed slightly as he took hold of the thick leathery rope that stopped his fall. At some point, without him realising, they had started to cross a bridge, the ropes and boards seemed to be made of thick rubber material. Curiously, Sora peaked over the edge but saw only darkness below, the bridge seemed to be held by something from above but when he looked up, a similar darkness greeted him, obscured by only a small handful of blue rocks.

"What's wrong, Roxas?" Sora questioned, steadying himself and noticing the other teenager's frowning face. "Are we lost?

"No… or we shouldn't be… I followed the signs…"

"Signs?" Sora tilted his head, wondering what Roxas was raving about.

"Oh Sora, we've got to stop meeting like this." Sora swore under his breath as he recognized the voice, he looked up but could not see the source. "And… oh my! Is that Ventus with you? No… if he were back I would know, undoubtedly ."

There it was, that name again- Ventus. This person, who ever it was, was an unknown piece in this puzzle.

"Who's there?!" Yelled Roxas, as the rocks above them floated lazily over their heads.

"Venitas!" Sora exclaimed as said person appeared, sitting casually on a small blue rock.

"Oh what were the chances of us meeting here, Sora." Vanitas tilted his head, as if he really was contemplating the answer. "It must be destiny and… there's something different from the last time… your light has weakened significantly. Is it due to that Ventus look-alike besides you? I'll have to thank him later, he's made my life a lot easier."

"Venitas stop blabbing and come down here." Sora lowered himself into a fighting position.

"Oh, soon but not just yet." and Vanitas snapped his fingers.

The bridge began to violently shake, both Roxas and Sora were forced to hold on to the ropes out of fear of falling off.

"A friend of yours?"Roxas glared at Sora but before the other boy could reply the bridge vanished from under their feet and gripped the two boys in its leathery embrace.

"What in the …."

But before either could contemplate what was going on they were pulled upward, past Vanitas and into the darkness. A roar filled their ears, and the light around them increased slightly. Sora blinked as he realised that, somehow a shore with obsidian sand and oil-like water was somehow above them, as if gravity had suddenly been reversed. From the unmoving water a giant octopus-like Heartless was thrashing, half submerged. It had too many eyes and tentacles and the crimson Heartless sign decorated the top of its domed head. What they had previously thought to be a bridge had actually been one of this monster's misshapen tentacles.

Roxas cursed as he struggled against their captator. A malicious laugh erupted from above where Vanitas was still sitting, now upside down, as he enjoyed the show. It was a good thing Sora couldn't feel anything at that moment because he knew he wouldn't be thinking as clearly as he was now if all his emotions had bee. there.

"Ven!" a woman's voice filled the air, silencing Vanitas laughter.

"You!" the masked boy yelled, angrily.

Sora struggled against the tentacle just enough to turn and see the source of the voice- a tall, slim woman with blue hair and eyes... and Sora knew her. They had met many years before, just once, and only for a few moments. But then a pain pierced his mind as more memories filled his vision, but these, Sora knew, where not his own. He saw this woman smiling down at him, her features soft and her eyes filled with compassion as she handed him a green star made of glass- a wayfinder.

"Aqua!" yelled Sora, though it felt as if he had no control over his voice

The monster screamed over him, defiantly.

 **So what did you guys think of the new chapter? Things are finally starting to fall in place I think. I really hope you enjoyed it and feel free to drop me a review, I always love to hear from you. Thanks again for reading and I'll try update as soon as possible. Until next time- LunaPendragon.**


	17. Aqua

How much time has passed?

How many years has it been since Aqua first entered the Realm of Darkness?

How long ago was it that Aqua had aided King Mickey with the closing of the Doors of Darkness ?

Minutes?

Days ?

Weeks?

Decades?

Centuries?

Aqua couldn't tell anymore, but then again, could she could she ever, here in the Realm of Darkness?

How long had she been sitting upon this dark shore? Basting in the warmest light the Darkness would permit, her eyes scanning the unchanging black sea before her?

At first her thoughts had preoccupied her mind, memories and faces and voices of people she'd never see again. In this realm of fluid time, that was an infinitely long torment. However, at some point, those too had faded and Aqua simply became part of the scenery, a breathing statue forged from the coast, looking out at the unchanging sea.

When the tentacled monster emerged from the sea, it had barely made her blink. A loud familiar lough tugged at her consciousness, at memories that had long since gathered dust and fallen to the back of her mind.

This lough, it reminded her of a boy in black and red armour. Unpleasant feelings churned in her stomach- she didn't like the boy who made this lough. Still half in a stupor her eyes calmly scanned the the monster, looking for the source. What she found instead got her staggering to her feet, every muscle in a body screaming in pain after so little movement for so long. Her knees wobbled as her feet sank into the cold sand, as if trying to hold her back, begging her to return her to her lifeless form.

But she wouldn't let it, not after she'd recognised him. He hadn't seen her yet, but she had- he had the same blue eyes and golden hair as she remembered and with a determined roar she yelled;

"Ven!"

So loudly it felt as if her lungs would collapse from the sudden use. Ventus look at her at that moment, but there was a confusion in his eyes, as if he himself did not recognise her.

But then she heard her own name being called and she averted her gaze to the other boy she had not initially seen. He was probably the same age as Ven and with the same startling blue eyes. But this boy's hair was brown and, although his features were slightly familiar, she could not put a name to his face.

"Aqua!" He yelled again, more loudly and clearly as the monster shook him in the air like a broken rattle.

"Ah Aqua, nice to meet you again." The boy in the red and black armour appeared from behind the monster, casually sitting on a hovering fluorescent stone that made slow progress towards the boys. Something within her wanted to yell, "Keep away from Ven!" but it had been an unbearably long time since she'd shown so much emotion… the thought alone made her tired.

"You've been out of the game for a quite a while." Continued the masked boy, what was his name? It was very similar to Ven's… "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to stay on the sidelines for this one. Much has changed since you came here, why bother entering the fray no? We're in the final act now."

"Final act?" she murmured. The boy, that's right… his name was Venitas… stopped besides the boy she couldn't name. "Just let me do my part and I will leave you to your vacation."

Both boys increased their struggling. "You'll never win." Growled the brunetter. "Even if you get me, my friends will stop you and the others!"

Venitas let out a cruel lough. "Do you think the others would fight me if I bore your face?"

"If it means protecting Kingdom Hearts they will do whatever it takes!" he confidently answered back.

"Protect… Kingdom Hearts?" The words echoed through Aqua's mind and, for a few moments. she looked away from the monster before her and down to her empty hand.

Yes, long ago she too had things and people she wanted to protect. Why had she ever stopped?

Because the darkness took it all away.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. Within her grip, in a beautiful flash of light appeared and her keyblade, Rainfell, materialised. At last it's wielder needed it again

It felt so natural in her grip, like and extension of her hand- a powerful and unyielding part of her like the element she had been named after. Her shifted into her fighting stance as if her body remembered what here mind had forgotten for so long.

"Venitas!" She yelled, catching all three boys' attention, even the monster's thrashing subsided slightly. "Let go of them."

Venitas shoulders slumped dramatically. "I warned you Aqua, it would have been better if you stayed benched."

Although every bone in her body creaked and moaned from the sudden overuse she jumped high into the air, using the thrashing tentcles as platforms, giving each step she took an extra boost. In her final leap she was high above even Venitas. The monster looked up at her with one, ruby red eye but with a cold demeanor she pushed herself forward, her Keyblade's glow intensifying.

The monster let out a feral scream as she camly landed on one knee behind it. Her eyes were closed, her breath steady, and the monster disintegrated into smoke behind her. She stood, her posture perfect, Rainfell held behind her, ready to another attack. Just looking at her no one would ever doubt she was a Keyblade master..

She turned in the calf deep water, it was lukewarm and she left very few ripples in her wake as she ran back to the shore. Her eyes narrowing at the cloaked lump on the sandy slope. Ventus was moving slightly and as she ran and knelt beside him, he was pushing himself up on one elbow, the other messaging his forehead. There was an imprint of the shore on his face but, the more Aqua looked at him, the more she was certain, this was Ven!

But then why did he look at her so blankly?

"Ventus are you…?" But she was quickly cut off as the boy jumped to his feet, his head darting from side to side.

"Where's Sora?!" He yelled , conjuring a keyblade into his hand that Aqua had never seen before.

"Sora…?" the name sounded familiar as Aqua to stood up. The other boy... Sora… she had met him before… before she came her… on a little island...

"Let go of me!" the shout came from above them and both Aqua's and Roxas's heads darted upward to see Venitas still standing calmly on his floating stone. However, this time, danging 50 feet above them by the collar of his jacket was Sora, struggling and thrashing with all his might.

Looking up at him now, Aqua excused herself for not recognising him in her previous stupor. He had grown so much since the last they had met, he no longer looked like an island boy who played in the sand, but as an adventurer across lands. She could sense that in the strength of his heart, but there was also something wrong with it. Something vital was missing.

"Sora!" yelled Ventus again,worry lacing his voice.

Since when had Ventus and Sora become such good friends? Thought Aqua. But then she frowned to herself. No, this boy beside her, he may look like Ventus but something within her chest told her he was not.

"What do you want him, Venitas?" She calmly called, pointing the keyblade at him with a familiar ease.

"The same as always," called back Venitas gleefully shaking Sora like a puppet.

Although the boy cursed and attempted attack his captor, it was a feat made near impossible by his current, dangling position. "I want the X-blade and must fuse with Ventus to do it."

"That child is not Ventus. " Yelled back Aqua, silently relieved. If Venitas was still looking for Ventus here, it meant Ventus was still safe asleep.

"Oh no this boy is even better." And Venitas emitted a blood curdling lough. "For 10 years he has harboured Ventus's heart, more accurately his light, within his own! And the best part? He probably didn't realise that until this very moment!

"In a doomed attempt to save you, he brought back his foolish Nobody down there at the expense of much of his own Light. Now he's been so weakened, Sora's body and Ventus' heart are mine for the taking! Master Xehanort believes this child is the final piece and I'll hand him over on a silver platter"

"What are you talking about!?" Roxas yelled as his mind raced, how could he get up there and save Sora?

"Oh, you'll see." And Venitas raised his gloved hand so that all could see the pulsing Darkness surrounding it. Without another word he thrust into the left side of Sora's back. Roxas had never hear him scream so- it was filled with pain and fear and anguish. With a malicious laugh Venitas faded into a dark mist and Sora fell through the air, now deathly silent.

"SORA!" Roxas yelled but Aqua was quicker. She caught him mid-jump and landed with a small stagger on the soft sediment. Within her arms, Sora's eyes were closed and his face as pale as snow, he wasn't moving, but under his eyelids she could make out his movement, as if his eyes were dashing below their lids.

"What did he do to Sora?" panted the Ventus look-alike as he caught up with Aqua and looked over Sora's unconscious face.

"We need to get out of here, quickly!" She urgently yelled. "Venitas is trying to take control! The Darkness is weakening his Light, we have to get out of here before he take control!"

The problem was, she'd spent years within this realm and still hadn't found a way out.

"Leave that to me." Said the boy, raising both his arms. Much to Aqua's amazement and terror a, swirling black protal, much like the ones Xehanort and Venitas could conjure, appeared before them. "It's the reason that idiot brought me back." added Roxas in a mumble so low, Aqua pretended not to have heard.

Aqua looked at the swirling mass of Darkness and wondered, was she finally heading home? But the paling boy in her arms told her that her work was far from over.

 **And that's another chapter! I know updates are far and wide and thank you so much for being so patient but I will finish this fanfic, I promise that and once classes end I hope to update more frequently. Thanks so much for reading and please drop a review, I always love to hear from you!- Luna Pendragon**


	18. Amber

Riku gripped his keyblade as he let out a yell, lifting it over his head and slashing down at his opponent. The 'Way to the Dawn' was a blare of red and grey as the youth sent strike after strike. He never faltered, allowing the anger that had been growing within him the past few days some freedom. He hacked and slashed, his palms were sweating under his leather gloves and his silver hair was sticking to the side of his head. How he refused to stop, his mind persitiantly whispering;

" _You were too slow. You're still slow…"_

"I don't know what that dummy did but I think it's learnt its lesson." Rik swiveled on his heels, his weapon already aimed to attack the source of the voice. It was still very early in the morning, there should have been no one else in the yard in front of Master Yan Sid's tower.

But Riku quickly lowered the keyblade when, in the dawn light, he recognized his childhood friend's concerned face.

Kairi had grown during her time training with Master Yen Sid, although she was a still a good deal shorter than him she had quickly caught up with Sora, a fact she had not allowed Sora to forget. Months of training had broadened her shoulders slightly and her arms were more toned than scrawny, that was clear through the sleeveless jacket she wore. A dark magenta in colour with black linings, the hoodie had a low zip, revealing the white shirt dress underneath that reached her thighs. Its hood lay across her back, the black, ear-like attachments barely visible. Black stockings rose past her knees and a matching black belt held the dress in place. Hey red hair was tied into a high ponytail, her bangs falling across the side of her face, leaving her bright eyes unobscured.

"A little warning next time, Kairi, I could have hurt you!"

Kairi gestured at the once hay-filled test dummy, its stuffying now lying on the grassy ground below it.

"I was trying to get some more training in, we have no idea when Xehanort might make his move. I need to be in top shape, especially since…"

As he spoke, Kairi took a couple of quiet steps towards him, cutting him off with a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'm worried about him too." She whispered, softly.

His denayal felt like lead in his mouth, looking at her worried blue eyes he let out a reluctant breath. "I just don't understand… where could he have gone? And why did he have to do it alone?"

"It's been over a week since we found the Gummi Ship at Twilight Town. But Yen Sid said he's got a plan... that we shouldn't worry."

"If we shouldn't worry why didn't he tell _us_ about it?! Why didn't he take one of us with him?" Unintended anger escaped into his voice, making her cringe as he shrugged Kairi off.

" He probably didn't what to put us in danger."

"That never stopped him before."

"Riku!" Kairi sighed, it felt as if she were talking to a particularly stubborn child. "Did you always tell him what you were planning?"

"But that was different!" He cried definitely.

"How?" she didn't expect him to answer and, for a moment, the two continued to glare at each other. However that argument was going to continue, they were rudely interrupted when a strong gale pushed against them, picking up hay and leaves as it caused both teenagers to stagger sideways. A cold chill ran down their spines as they turned, causing the hair on the back of their necks to rise. The keyblades 'Way of the Dawn' and 'Destiny's Embrace' appeared at their owners side with their briefest call..

"What's going on Riku!?" She yelled over the whirling winds.

"A dark portal is trying to form!"

"But I thought Yen Sid put up a protective spell?"

"Well it doesn't seem to be working!"

"I'll go get him!"

Kairi was already turning when the sorcerer's deep voice reached them from the the tower's entrance.

"No need, I sensed their approach." The wizard barreled against the wind, unphased as it threatened to blow of his hat, his long beard fluttering like a scarf. Behind him, struggling to get past the entrance, Mickey, Lea, Goofy and Donald stood, blinking away the sleep that still lingered, the latter two failing to comprehend what was going on.

"So Xehanort finally decided to show." Growled Riku as Yen Sid finally reached them.

Kairi bit her lip, "But Sora hasn't come back yet."

"I fear he may be closer than we believe." the old master said solemnly, caressing his beard as he loosened the protective shield from around his world, allowing the Dark Portal to materialise before them and the winds to die. Their remaining companions barreled towards them, weapons in hand, even though Donald and Goofy didn't look quite as threatening in their pyjamas.

"Get ready Kairi!" Warned Riku, crouching into a fighting position.

Kairi didn't know what to expect, an embered eyed villain? A jagged heartless with clashing teeth?

She did not expect the blond teenager that walked out, eyes closed as he casually wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his knee-length black cloak.

"I must be rusty." He said, "That was a lot harder than it should have been."

He spoke more to himself then to his audience, but when he finally opened his startling blue eyes he didn't seem as surprised as Kairi had hoped when he'd noticed the armed greeting.

Looking at the boy before her, he looked around her age with a mess of sandy hair and large blue eyes. Riku stiffened beside her as if he'd recognised the new arrival.

"How is he here?" He whispered just loud enough for Kairi to hear.

Micky too, made a surprised yelp, as he recognised the youth, and Yen Sid nodded his head in greeting. However, it was Lea's response that surprised Kairi the most.

"Roxas!?" He yelled, running past the group, his chakram falling to his side as he staggered to an unsteady halt a few feet away from the youth. "You are Roxas, right?"

The boy blinked up at the older man, his casual demeanor collapsing as he took in the spiky Haired man, in his bright, flame-patterned trousers and black shirt.

"Axel?" He exclaimed, "What are you doing here?!"

"I can ask you the same thing!" Lougheed Lea, turning to face Yen Sid as if the old master would have the answers.

"I take it Sora's quest was a success, then?" Yen Sid walked up beside Lea, his hands hidden within his cloak sleeves. Kairi lowered her Keyblade, looking at Riku, but he looked just as confused as she felt.

"Roxas is Sora's nobody." Was all he said as he led the rest fo the group towards the portal, this close the chill of the portal sent goose-pimples across both her arms.

This boy was meant to be Sora's Nobody? Then something _must_ have happened to Sora… Kairi thought with dread.

"Sort of… " Roxas ran his hand through his hair as another person passed through the portal. "We hit a bit of a bump on the way though."

The woman that had just joined them tugged a memory from long ago, of a time when she still lived in Radiant Garden with her grandmother. Although years had passed since they'd last met, the blue haired woman hadn't changed at all.

"Aqua!" yelled Mickey running towards her but stopping short when he saw what she was carrying.

Kairi gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she recognized the limp body in the keyblade masters arms.

"What happened to Sora!?" She yelled, not sure to which of the new arrivals she should address the question.

Aqua carefully placed the teenager on the ground as Roxas explained, as best he could, what had happened since entering the Dark Realm, closing the portal in the meantime.

Kairi was only half listening as she knelt beside Sora, he was deathly pale and, when she put her hand on his forehead he was freezing.

"You're that girl from Radiant Garden." Kairi reluctantly looked up from Sora's face. Aqua had spoken, but it wasn't a question.

"Will he be ok?" Was her reply but Aqua looked past her as if she too were looking for the answer to that question.

Kairi felt someone kneel beside her and, with a start, she realised it was Yen Side, his face deep in concentration as he put a hand over Soras chest.

"Struggle." He growled, loud enough for everyone to hear him. " Sora's light is painfully weak, Venitas, a manifestation of Darkness, is trying to quell in."

"What does that mean?" gasped Goofy, turning to Donald, " He's going to be ok, right?"

"It means he's going to become the final vessel of Darkness."

Kairi sensed the portal before she heard the voice. She spun to her feet, her keyblade once again in her hand as two silvered haired men walked out with a rather haughty look. Their ember eyes scanned the small group with amusement.

"Terra!" Shouted Aqua, though which one might have once been called that Kairi didn't know, to her they were Xehanort and Xemnas.

"Stay back." She warned, her eyes never leaving the amber ones of the older man.

"Don't worry, we won't be long." The younger man, Xemnas, said, soudning rather bored. "We just came to pick up the last vessel."

"You'll have to go through us if you want to take him!" Yelled Riku, running up beside her, closely followed by the rest. Beside her, she was acutely aware that the nobody, Roxas, was right besides her, a black keyblade held at his side. She had met Nobodies before, they had often radiated a sort of empty sensation, as if they had something missing. But not Roxas. Her eyes lingered on the pulsing crystal hung around his neck before direction her attention to his weapon.

 _So he's a keyblade wielder too_. She wondered. With Aqua too, there were now 6 keyblade wielders, what could these two man possibly do against such numbers?

They didn't need to do anything.

There was a loud crash from behind the group, but Kairi didn't turn away form the two cloaked figures until she heard King Mickey's panicked yell.

"Master Yen Sid!"

At the same time there was the sound of two colliding keyblades. "Vanitas!"

Keeping the two intruders in the corner of her line of vision, Kairi almost dropped her keyblade in shock at what she saw. Yen Sid was sprawled on the ground at the foot of the tower as if some great force had thrown him there, knocking him out.

Both Mickey and Aqua had their back to her, their arms shaking with the struggle as they pushed their keyblades against some unseen weapon. A malicious cackle filled the air and the smell of ozone filled Kairi's nostril as black bolts of lightning appeared from the sky, scorching the ground and sending both masters flying meters away.

Sora walked over the smouldering ground, the colour had returned to his face and a broad smirk greeted them but his eyes… they were no longer the familiar blue Kairi had come to recognize... but an yellow almost as sickly a colour as Xehanort's.

 **HI! So i've got a few of the chapters already written so hopefully I'll updated very soon and, with exams almost overI'll be working overtime to get this fanfic done. Thanks so much for be patient and what did you think? Drop me a review, I love from hear from you guys. Until next time!- LunaPendragon**


	19. Gone

"Nice of you guys to pick me up." Joked Sora, but although it was Sora's voice, Kairi didn't recognise it. It was harsher, darker… it radiated a malice she'd never heard in her friend's voice before. In his hand was an unfamiliar black, gear-like keyblade.

"Sora?" Donald took a step towards the boy, but with blinding speed the teenager appeared behind the wizard and, with a hefty kick, sent the stunned duck crashing into Goofy, sending the two in a daze and they tumbled through the soil.

"It's Vanitas." The teenager corrected, studying the remaining four keyblade wielders with little interest.

"Was he always this powerful?" Lea wondered out loud, as he gripped the hilt of flame-themed keyblade.

"It's the Darkness." Roxas explained, trying to anticipate Sora's… no... Vanitas's next move.

"You should have realised, when you returned to your Somebody form, that you weren't as strong as when you were a Nobody." Finished Riku as Vanitas made a mocking yawn.

"All this chit chat is rather boring." Admitted Vanitas, "are you going to do something else or can I just go?"

"We can't let him do that." Yelled Lea.

"Sure Axel…" Agreed Roxas, suspecting that the reasons they wanted to stop Sora were quite different. "You'll have to explain all this later though."

In sync, the two old friends charged at Vanitas, alternating blows as if they were part of some dance, one jumping over the other, causing Vanities to go on the defensive. It had been quite some time since the two last fought together, side by side, like this.

"Should we do something?" absentmindedly asked Xemnas, looking at the battle with disinterest.

"There is not need." answered Xehanort, "He is simply playing with them."

Blocking and finally pushing them back, Vanitas jumped high over them and, with wide spread arms, sent a beam of dark energy at Lea and Roxas. Like the rest, they were tossed aside like dirty rags. Vanitas landed with ease, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he quickly raised Void Gear to block Riku's sneak attack. Vanitas pushed back but Riku tried to kick in his feet from under him. It might have worked hadn't Vanitas landed on his hands and kicked Riku under the chin, sending him in the air. Quickly getting back on his feet, Vanitas attacked with the keyblade, sending Riku into the side of the tower with a sickly bump. He landed in the bushes, his whole body dangerously limp.

"Riku!" yelled Kairi her head spinning after him.

"If you want to go help him girlie, be my guest." Kairi snapped back to attention, raising Destiny's Embrace before her, ready to block.

"I am not going to let you leave with Sora's body." She shouted, but she didn't move, the others were still all dazed or too badly hurt to help. She was alone in this.

"And what do _you_ care?" Vanitas tilted his head, staring at her with unblinking amber eyes. "I fully control this fool's body now. "

"I don't believe it! Sora you've got to fight it!"

Vanitas let out a dark laugh. "And why would he listen to you?"

"Because we are friends, and our bond is unbreakable." She glared at the youth. "But I doubt that's something you'd ever be able to understand."

He snarled at her words. "Anything can be torn apart."

And with inhuman speed he covered the distance between them but Kairi was ready as she raised her Keyblade to block. The sound of colliding metal filled the air, and she pushed back with all her strength, her arms shaking form the effort, but when she looked up, she saw that a second keyblade was helping hers.

"Sora you've got to gain control!" Roxas was panting beside her, struggling as he pushed back. Bleeding scrapes covered his face and his black coat was charred and torn. "You didn't go through all that just so that you'd fall to the Darkness!"

"Tsk, I should thank you. Bringing you back gained me control." Vanitas eyes then fell to the flickering pendent that had revealed itself from under Roxas's cloak. "Your job here is done, however."

With impressive reflexes he grabbed the crystal with his free hand. Vanitas aimed to relieve it from the Nobody and return him to his Puppet form but, as he attempted this, a searing pain ran up his arm and there was a blinding white light. It was too much for all three of them, Kairi and Roxas were sent staggering in the opposite direction as Vanitas. With scratched and bruised arms, Kairi tried to help Roxas on his feet, but neither could do much more than watch as Vanitas stumbled towards Xemnas and Xehanort. His keyblade had vanished and he was gripping his head with both his hands, one of which was smoking slightly. As he was about to step into the portal he spared them a brief, vicious glance back.

Kairi started as he vanished, had his eyes flashed blue for an instant?

 **Hey! So this was a bit short but needed it for th build up of the next chapters. Thanks so much for reading and feel free to drop a review, I always love to hear from you!** I'll try update asap- Luna Pendragon.

PS. Did you guys catch the new KH3 trailer?


	20. Ohana

The voices in Vanitas's head were still yelling when he staggered into unknown, moon-washed land. The smell of the sea and vegetation filled his nostrils as he mentally yelled back at the two voices to keep quiet.

These defiant voices, he'd quelled them for now, berating them with darkness. Sora's heart was weak, if it hadn't been for that stow away this body would already be his. But, nevermind … he will silence them both, permanently, soon enough.

An iron-like hand gripped his neck and pushed him against the nearest tree, it's broad leaves jerking up and down with the sudden impact, its hard shelled fruits making a pleasant noise in the process.

"You promised us you could keep them under control." snarled Xehanort, pressing his arm against the teenager's neck, making him gasp for breath as he struggled.

"I can!" he managed to choke out, his gloved hands trying to push the man away.

"It didn't look that way to me." Xemnas observed, his silver hair reflecting off the full moon's light.

"Now Xehanort…" Xemnas placed a relaxed hand on Xehanort's shoulder, but the latter did not loosen his grip on Vanitas. "We must consider that young Vanitas here must subdue not one, but two lights chosen by the keyblade. You must realise that is not an easy feat, even for one formed of the darkness."

"We have come too far to lose due to one's incompetence."

"And we will not. As long as the Guardians of Light fail to achieve their required numbers our victory is ensured." Xemnas calmly explained. "My vessel succumbed to my will many years ago, and Vanitas will achieve the same result soon enough… with a little help."

And with a painful ease, a small black orb danced across his index finger and pushed pushed it into the struggling vanitas's forehead. Vanitas gasped at the sudden surge of power, instantly silencing the voices that had been tormenting him. Vanitas looked up at him curiously, unbeknownst to him, as a collection of silver streaks began to appear alongside the youth's chestnut locks.

"Let him go Xehanort we had much difficulty acquiring this vessel, I don't want to lose him so fiverously."

The younger man succumbed, reluctantly, as Vanitas gagged and choked, into a nearby bush.

"We must destroy the body now that we have the required numbers. Only then will the Light be permanently limped." Without further explanation Xehanort raised a hand and willed a portal into existence. Without a second glance at his superior he walked away.

Vanitas had all but stopped his gagging, he was now busy examining an inhabitant of this world that had been hiding behind the bush he had decided to feel sick into. It was a small creature, with a coat of fur made of many shades of blue. Its head seemed to be composed primarily of large black eyes and broad pointed ears. In his clawed hand it held a book with a small yellow duck on its front.

"Sora?" The creature tilted its head causing Vanitas to jump back, not at the fact that it spoke but that it knew his vessel's name. The creature cautiously got onto its short hind legs and looked up at Vanitas, it barely reached his knees. "You okay... Sora? Sora… Looks different." With one clawed hand it pointed at its own eyes.

In a dark flash of light, Vanitas urged Void Gear to appear in his hand and was about the attack when Xemnas stopped him.

"We don't have time to fight. Let the creature be."

"But it recognised my vessel, its a treat." Countered Vanitas.

"My Organization does not fight needless battles." urged Xehanort. "There is always a time and a place."

Vanitas snarled but turned his back on the creature, whose ears drooped in obvious sadness. "You better not cross my path again, Fuzzball."

And with that Vanitas walked through the Dark Portal.

Xemnas made to to follow him but a soft croak from the creature cuased him to turn slightly to face it.

"Terra?"

"So you knew my vessel too?" Muttered Xemnas, curious.

"Did you… find your friends?" The creature asked, wobbling on its little legs towards him. "Your Ohana?"

"Ohana?" Xemnas sensed no evil intent from the creature and his curiosity had been piqued.

"Ohana means family… Family means nobody gets left behind." Then the creature repeated its question. " Did you find your Ohana, Terra?"

For the briefest of moments an image of Aqua and Ventus flashed in his mind, a memory that was not his own. With irritation he suffocated it in darkness, though he could feel a heavy weight within his heart. It had been many years since he'd felt any form of reaction from his host.

"Curious." He whispered to himself.

"Stitch!" The voice of a young girl echoed through the trees. "Stitch!"

The blue creature's ears pricked and his head darted sideways.

"Go." sighed Xemnas. " I think your Ohana is waiting for you." And with that the old master walked through the portal, allowing it to close behind him.

Roxas and Kairi had to get help from the three fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, to carry the others back into the tower. The protective shield was still down around the tower so attempting to mend their injuries outside would not have been the best idea. Most of the group was still unconscious, though Aqua was stubbornly attempting to push herself up but her legs were bleeding badly from where she had scraped them across the ground. The others were stirring to different degrees but struggling to wake were Riku and Yen Sid, who were the most worrisome. The unsteady rise and fall of their chests were barely visible...

Kairi shook the thought out of her mind as she finally sat on a unoccupied chair surrounded by beds laiden with her injured friends. She wiped the bangs out of her eyes. The three fairies had done all they could with the magic they had, promising Kairi, Aqua and Roxas (the only conscious members of the group) that the others would need to sleep off the injuries.

Aqua had thanked the fairies fondly, as they fussily ushered Roxas away, complaining how a hero couldn't go out dressed in such offensive garbs. Roxas had sent them a pleading look but the two girls just waved him off with tired smiles.

"You know the three fairies?" Kairi finally asked as an awkward silence fell over the room.

"We go a while back, they helped me out back then too."

Kairi nodded her head and the heavy silence fell upon them again. Kairi didn't even know where to look, her injured friends filled ever corner, reminding her that, even after all that training, he was still useless in such matter.

"Kairi…" Aqua's soft voice caught her attention, causing her to look at the blue haired woman, the bruises across her face were already fading into brown. "Could you explain what's going on here? Why did Ter… Xemnas want to take Sora? What does he plan to do?"

Kairi bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "Where to begin…"

"How about from the beginning?" Offered Aqua.

"It's a long story."

Aqua reluctantly gestured to their sleeping companions, "We've got time."

And, with another moment's thought, Kairi began form the very start, with three young teenagers dreaming of sailing across the sea.

Kairi had just finished explaining the 13 Vessels of Darkness and the 7 Guardians of Light when Roxas entered the room, alone, in his new outfit.

It suited him more then the black cloak he wore before, in Kairi's opinion, although he had a sheepish look on his face as he walked in. It looked alot like Sora Final Form, made of black and white material, the hems of his jacket and trousers had elaborate wind-like patterns and, around his neck, his emerald gem was embedded in an X-shaped pendant.

"The problem is," Added Roxas, trying to direct the girls attention away from his clothes, as he tugged at his jacket, "That we don't know what Xemnas plans to do now that he's got the 13 vessels. Sora said it was to open Kingdom Hearts but that didn't work before. There must be another piece missing."

"The X-Blade." promptly answered Aqua, her eyes widening in realisation, in all these years, Xehanort's motive had not changed in the slightest. He had been after that blasted keyblade then and he was still after it now, but this time, his plan was imaculat.

"The X-Blade?" Kairi tilted her head slightly. " Yen Sid spoke of that, when he told us about you and your friends.

"It's the only key capable of opening Kingdom Hearts. "

"So we have to get it before Xehanort does!" Jumped in Roxas, linking Aqua's words with everything Sora had told him.

"That's the problem…" faltered Kairi, looking back at Aqua. "The X-blade can only be made when a vessel of pure darkness clashes with a vessel of pure light, right?"

"We need to find Ven!" Aqua pushed off the sheets and tried to get to her feet, but they almost didn't hold her, she still hadn't fully healed.

"Ven?" It was Roxas turn to ask, he had the foggy idea of hearing that name the first time he'd met Aqua, but he'd been dangling upside down at the time was wasn't certain.

"Ven… as in Ventus? The third keyblade wielder? You know where he is?" Kairi exclaimed, jumping to her feet and helping Aqua stand.

"Of course." she accepted the younger girl's help, the first steps were teeth grindingly painful but she pushed passed it. If, by some miracle, Ven was still safe where she had left him, she would not let Xehanort find him now that she had finally escaped the darkness.

"Anyone care to explain to me why the Organization would be going after this Ventus person?"

Aqua gave Roxas a steely look, the boy looked so much like Ventus it was physically painful.

"Because he's the person Venitas must destroy if he wants to get the X blade!" she finally answered.

 **And that's another chapter! So what did you guys think? I remember reading the little Ohana segment as fanart thing once (so I give them full credit for that!) and I just had to put it into the story. Drop me a review, I always love to hear from you guys and I'll try update ASAP- LunaPendragon**


	21. Departure

"Do the Fairies know what to do if the others wake?" ordered Aqua, caressing the unfamiliar wheel of the Gummi Ship, looking at all the levers and buttons- she was seriously missing the simplicity of her glider. But she was the only one who knew where the Land of Departure was, the clueless looks the youths had given her at the mention of her old home had been evidence enough.

" _When_ they wake up." corrected Kairi taking a seat behind behind Aqua, the hood of her jacket pulled over her head.

"To tell them, only if they are well enough, that we are at the Land of Departure."

Aqua nodded her head, deep in thought, retracing the old path to the world in her mind. "The king and Yen Sid should know how to get there."

Roxas sighed, reluctantly taking his seat as the door closed behind them, Chip and Dale waving sadly at them from their work bench. "I'd much prefer travelling with a portal."

"I don't think you'd blame me for not wanting to head back the Realm of Darkness any time soon." Aqua tartly replied, not looking at the boy that looked too much like Ven.

Roxas didn't reply and Aqua ignited the engine, accepting his silent understanding.

The gummi ship was _very_ different from her glider, it was far less maneuverable and possessed way too many gadgets. Minutes into liftoff she had almost blasted Yen Sid's tower out of the sky and almost crashed them into Agrabah. But with steadying hands the old master began to understand the ship's working and, with slightly paler passengers, the Land if Departure eventually came into view.

A heavy feeling filled her chest as the world came into view for this was not the world as she had last left it. The sky they flew through was ominously dark, with a relentless layer of cloud. The vegetation was wilted and the lakes, those that still held water, were green with sludge. The land of departure never held many people but Aqua had always felt a sense of life radiating from it. Now, it was simply a silent spot in the galaxy.

With an ametour twist of the wheel, Aqua led the the ship over a ridge of mountains, to reveal the Keyblade temple. It's once pearl walls were now the colour of rotten teeth and it's windows coated in a suffocating moss. Just looking at the state of her home, Aqua could just feel that moss and ivy crawling around her neck, hindering her breathing.

But Roxas's reaction was far different from Aqua's. At seeing the castle he jumped to his feet so aggressively that the ship jolted under the sudden movement.

"Wait! This is Castle Oblivion! This… Ven cannot be here! I lived here!"

"Castle Oblivion." Kairi said the words as if tasting them, "this is were Sora lost his memories..."

"It seems Master Eraqus's spell worked." Whispered Aqua.

"There's a spell?" Jumped Roxas, his mind fastforwarding through all his time in the Organization. "Is that's why none of us never found him?"

"He can only be found by someone who knows of his existence but does not seek him."

"That's sounds a lot simpler than I expected." Complained Kairi. "But does that mean the Organization can't get to him?"

With shaking hands Aqua landed the gummi ship, not so gently, across the drawbridge.

"Before Venitas had a body I would have said yes. But that monster and Ven share a link… they are meant to be one… he was always seems to be aware of Ven's location. And now that he's possessing Sora..."

"There's nothing stopping him?"

"The Castle's defences will try slow him once it recognises his intent, but it won't stop him" Calmly concluded Aqua, getting up.

Kairi tugged at her jacket nervously. "If they get to Ven before us, he will finally have all the pieces needed to form the X blade and open Kingdom Hearts."

"And you would have lost Ven." Roxas said the words Aqua had pushed to the back of her mind.

Kairi gave Roxas a disapproving looking before giving the woman a small, nervous smile. "We'll get him back- we'll get them all back."

Awkwardly Roxas turned his back on the keyblade wielders and exited the Gummi ship, the familiar slightly sulphur air of Castle Oblivion greeted him. Absentmindedly he played with the faintly glowing gem that hung around his neck. He could sense Heartless and Nobodies in the area but none in the immediate vicinity.. Actually the arrival of the Gummi ship had caused little change in the area… as if they were being expected.

Looking at his old home, memories churned in his mind of times with Axel and Xion and so many of the other Organization members. For the first time Roxas wondered about what had happened to the rest of them- Axel had somehow returned to his Somebody, had the same happened to the other Organization members? Roxas half hoped that was true, he didn't want to fight any of them again, even if they had departed on bad terms.

And what of Xion and Namine? At the thought of them the gem within his grip warmed pleasantly. Those two could not Leave Sora's heart, what had befallen them when Venitas had taken over Sora? Had they still been on that little boat in the middle of the sea- where he had been taken from them… where he had abandoned them!

His anger brought his keyblade into existence. Why had Sora insisted on bringing him back? There had had to be another way to have found Aqua. If that fool had not insisted on bringing him back none of this would have happened! That fool would not have fallen to the Darkness. Ventus would still be hidden and Kingdom Hearts safe- at least for a while longer!

Why had he insisted on bringing him back?

But looking at his reflection in the gem, something that sounded like his own voice answered.

 _You know why..._

His knuckles turned white his grip on his weapon was so tight.

It should have been Xion or Namine. He had his summer, they had had nothing!

He had played his part in Sora's plan. He'd followed it to the dot! But where did that leave them now? Too many friends lost to the Darkness...

"Don't beat yourself up over what happened. " Kairi's calm voice washed over him.

"I don't know what your talking about." He didn't turn to face her.

"I've lived with two moody boys for majority of my life." Continued Kairi, he could sense her right behind him. "I know when they are taking to much blame on their shoulders."

"Whatever." Roxas didn't like how well this girl could read him, and it was unnerving how much she looked like both Namine and Xion. Pointing his keyblade as the door beam of light hit the keyhole of the castle, causing the massive doors to creak open, instantly an aura of Darkness washed over him. It was nauseating without his cloak.

"Be ready, there might be Heartless." He warned.

"And the castle has its own defences. We must, by all means, not get seperated." Ordered Aqua.

Obviously, when someone says something like that, it's the first thing that happens.

The moment all three of them entered the castle, they entered its blinding white halls, seemingly unchanged since the last Roxas had last walked through them, the symbols adorned across it walls, shone into life and danced off the walls and floors with a soft golden glow.

"What going on?" asked Kairi, drawing her keyblade.

"The protective spells." Aqua responded, doing the same.

"This never happened before!" Called back Roxas.

"You were never looking for Ven before."

For a moment the symbols hovered around them, increasing in number like an ever glowing flurry of golden snow. The three keyblade wielders stood back to back, unable to decide where to focus their eyes. It was only when the last symbol floated off the furthest corner of the entrance hall, the symbols momentarily stopped in their movement, as if taking a breath, before rushing at them an agitated storm. The symbols swirled around them, forming a golden hurricane with Roxas and the others standing precariously in its center.

"Stand your guard!" yelled Aqua over the gale but Roxas didn't have enough time to even try comprehend her words before the hurricane around them separated into three rushing streams of symbols. Roxas braced himself for a forceful push like you'd expect when walking through a strong wind, but instead he was crashed into what could have been a brick wall. The youth had his breath knocked out of him as the the symbols crashed into him yet again, this timelike a wall of rushing water. It sent him flying back and crashing through one of the doors that swung open upon his approach.

The glowing stream followed him in, the winds shutting the door behind them. He crashed, hard, into one of the walls, his head being hit so hard he momentarily saw stars. Just barely conscious, he rolled out of the streams next attack, trying to shake of the daze.

"We don't have time for this!" He yelled, charging at the symbols. They rushed towards him. He braced himself for impact, but instead of colliding the warmly glowing symbols washed over him like a breaking wave, dissipating in a shower of tiny, shining flakes. Confused Roxas wearily stopped is advance, keeping his weapon raised. The spot of glitter stood in the air around him, before lazily drifting to the ground and vanishing.

Wondering to himself what had been the point of that, Roxas ran through the door the symbols had pushed him through. But he stopped, his sneakers making barely a sound in the white tiles as the door closed behind him.

This wasn't right.

The room was not the same one he had been in when the symbols had come to life.

Like the one he had just exited, this one was endlessly white, the symbols etched on its surface barely visible. Had the symbols reappeared or was this really a compelly foreign room? Looking around he he saw doors and corridors but no sign of his companions.

If the aim of the castle's protective spells had been to get him lost, it had succeeded too well.


	22. Lost

Sora groaned as he rolled to his side. He could feel his gloved hands covering his ears but they were useless in deafening noise that stunned him.

The screams of the tormented Elsa…

The sobs of a dstrought Hiro.

Through closed eyes he could see a colosseum in ruins, a withered Radiant Garden.

His head throbbed as he tried to push the scenes to the back of his mind. He did not want to see how he had failed. He did not want to see the faces…

Donald and Goofy, distraught, held captive in chains.

The King with his crown crushed at his feet, finally beaten.

Riku struggling through a cloud of darkness as his eyes flickered gold.

Kairi, her eyes crimson as tears stained her cheeks.

He'd let them all down.

After all these years… after all those sacrifices...he'd let them all down.

He's succumbed to the Darkness he'd fought so hard against.

He moaned in pain at the painful visions that sucked at his will. He begged them to stop as the darkness threatened to extinguish the little light left within him. But then a thought crossed his mind, had that light ever really been his?

Sora could feel himself sinking into the darkness, he could feel it's chill filling every fiber of his being. But unlike drowning, his body did not fight its embrace. He had fought but lost...

"Sora!"

The voice was unclear and muffled, as if he were hearing from a great depth. If he could breath he would have begged to be left alone, this was the only way to escape those of the Pridelands being coated by a poisonous lime mist and of the water waters of Atlantis slowly boiling berated him.

 _Please let me be_ , he begged the voice. _I'd tried my best, but it was not enough. Just let me sink…_

"Oh no you don't" the muffled voice seemed to say as the images continued but then a stinging warmth ran through his body. Something- or someone- had grabbed his hand and was pulling him from the depths...

Cautiously, weapon still in hand, Roxas crept up to the nearest door, as if it would suddenly come to life and engulf him.

He fought the urge to call out for Aqua and Kairi, he had no idea who or what else could be lurking in the castle and he didn't want to lead them to him or the others. He let his free hand slide silently across the wall, running over symbols that, only minutes before, had been alive and surging with power. Now they didn't respond in the slightest but it still felt as if somehow, they were watching him, waiting to intervene if he found himself searching for the sleeping Keyblade wielder. The castle needeth have worried, right now his companions were his highest priority. Roxas didn't like the idea of Kairi and Aqua wandering through this silent castle alone.

Why did he care so much about what happened to them? Roxas was blaming it on the little bit of soul Sora had given him.

The pendent pulsed on his chest, as if chuckling at his excuse.

The teenager ignored it as he carefully gripped the the doorknob and with a slow turn pulled the door open. Roxas stopped as he was about to pass under the frame. A familiar cherry red light warmed his face, accompanied by the sound of a travelling train. The smell of cobblestone floors and summer filled his nostrils. He would have fallen back, he might have even have run back into the room hadn't the door so insistantaly pushed him through, closing itself behind him and leaving standing under a bridge within the familiar main plaza of Twilight Town.

What was going on?

How had he ended up here?

He heard people yelling, was that Olette and Hayner?

He took a step forward, the yearning to see his old friends resurfacing like and unquenched thirst. But he forced himself to stop, he couldn't afford to go find them, not just yet. With a reluctance that weighed heavily on his chest he turned to leave.

However the door that had led him there was no more! In its place was just an ordinary red brick wall.

"What the…?" Roxas's voice trailed as he placed his gloved hand on it. He pushed gently but it did not budge, he tapped at it with his knuckles but it didn't sound hollow and on closer inspection there was no sign a door had ever stood there at all! He even pointed his keyblade at it in an attempt to leave, but the brick wall was as responsive as well, a brick wall.

"Great, now how am I meant to get out of here?" He mumbled to himself, crossing his arms and looking thoughtful.

"Heeeeellllpppppp!" A shrill familiar voice pierced his brain before he was knocked nearly off his feet by a body moving at near maximum velocity. Roxas frowned to himself, he was getting really tired of being pushed around.

Roxas turned to complain to his assailant, who had been less fortunate and had actually fallen to the ground. But the words were lost in transit. Pence was on his knees, obviously having fallen after colliding into Roxas and Hayner and Olette were rushing to get him back on his feet. Sweat glistened across their ashen faces as they looked over there shoulders, fearfully.

"Hurry Pence! we've gotta get out of here!" Yelled Hayner frantically pulling his friend to his feet. "They'll catch up with us!"

The fear in his old friend's voice caught Roxas's attention, pulling him out of his daze. This was not part of some usual game.

"Who's going to hatch you?" The three teenagers almost jumped as if seeing Roxas there for the first time.

"The monsters!" Panted Pence, finally getting to his feet. "They just appeared and have been chasing us through the town!"

"You should hurry and hide too!" Cautioned Olette, her voice stammering as she spoke. "We might have just led them to you… they're here!" She squeaked the last words.

"Monsters?" Roxas turned to where she was facing where, no less, a group of Nobodies and Large Body heartless rounded the corner.

"Stand behind me!" ordered Roxas, crouching and willing his weapon into existence. Pence and Olette gasped at the keyblade's appearance but Hayner gripped Roxas's shoulder firmly.

"It's no use, we tried fighting them but nothing worked! We've gotta get out of here!"

"You've just got to trust me on this. I'll protect you." Roxas gritted his teeth.

Aqua and Kairi would have to wait a little longer, he'd be damned if he let Hayner and the others get hurt on his watch. Even if they didn't remember him, they were his friends!

Hayner's grip momentarily tightened causing Roxas to finally look back at his old friend. The boy was frowning at Roxas, "I don't know who you are kid…" his voice sounded unsteady, "But I feel I can- should- trust you."

"Get the others out of here." Roxas repeated. "I'll keep these things off your trail."

"Please… be careful." cautioned Olette before being led away by Hayner and Pence.

Taking a steady breath Roxas turned his attention on the approaching creatures, his conjuring of the keyblade had caught their attention. The Nobodies shivered in excitement as they approached and the Heartless swung their stubby black arms eagerly, almost knocking over a mailbox in the process.

Roxas pounced once the first Nobody came into range but the Nobody dodged, much to his irritation, while two other creatures tried to grab at his arms. He swung his weapon, narrowly hitting one, but the others dodged with ease. He must have been rusty, these levels shouldn't have been causing him so much trouble! He sidestepped and fainted, menaging to take out another Nobody before he was sent into the air by an unexpected shockwave. He reorientated himself in the air and twisted his body to dodge the Large Body's next attack. Roxas landed on one of the Nobodies, turning into dust in the process. He fainted to the left as one of the creatures made a grab for him, the Nobody disintegrated an instant later.

But Roxas must have been really out of shape, or was, as yet, unaccustomed to his new body. He was already panting and sweating as he held his keyblade at his side, the monsters quivering around him, the round bellied Heartless trotted around the Nobodies, preparing to send out another shockwave.

Roxas almost closed his eyes, bracing himself for the next attack when a voice filled the air.

"Need a hand?"

For a horrid moment Roxas thought Hayner and the others had returned. If he was finding difficulty dealing with this lot they would surely be goners!

But that was not the case. A hot rush of air washed over him, burning up the oxygen around him and causing him to gasp for breath as the creatures of Darkness were engulfed by the flames. They vanished in a silent scorched mess. The flames continued to spread around him however, as if they were being stringed along by invisible ropes… no not ropes… whizzing through the air, leaving raging flames in their shadow, were two crimson coloured charkrams.

Still gasping for air Roxas desperately looked around for the burning weapons' owner.

There he was!

Lea was standing right over the bridge under which Roxas had appeared. His scarlet hair being swept back by the air currents being generated by the flames, a near insane look covered his face as the Chakrams returned to him. The moment he made contact with them the flames vanished around Roxas, leaving him untouched.

"Lea!" He coughed out. "W-w-what's going on? Why -gah- are you in that?"

Against watering eyes Roxas could see that Lea was wearing the same black coat from his Organization XIII days.

Lea tilted his head slightly as he gracefully jumped to the ground besides Roxas. "Lea?" he questioned, hanging his weapons around his waist. "Did the heat melt your brain? I'm Axel, got it memorised?" and with a joking smile he pointed his index finger to his temple in a manner Roxas had seen him do countless times.

Something was wrong! Back at Yen Sid's tower he was certain that Axel went by the name Lea now, why would he revert back to Axel? And why was he wearing that coat?

"This?" Axel tugged at the drawstring of his coat once Roxas asked his question again. Now worry creased the red head's brow, as if he now really feared his flames has damaged Roxas's brain. "I've worn this every day since I've met you! It's the same thing you're wearing!"

"I'm not…" but Roxas's voice trailed off as he looked down at himself. He was no longer wearing the outfit the Fairies had made for him, he was back in his black Organization XIII coat, the Troll's pendent just barely visible under the zipper. Upon seeing he became acutely aware of it's familiar scent and feel against his body.

Roxas looked up at the worried Axel, what was going on?!


	23. Ice Cream

"Sora, wake up!" The voice sounded severe and urgent. Sora could feel a pressure on his shoulder but through the darkness could see nothing.

This voice… it reminded him of a dream he'd had in his childhood, of a tear shed on a sandy beach one starry night for no apparent reason. Until then, he'd totally forgotten about that night.

"Sora you've got to wake up!" The boy's voice punched through the darkness, through the images and chaos that attacked the youth's mind.

Sora's eyes flickered open and he blinked at the sudden light as he tried to focus on the unfamiliar terrain around him. Last he remembered, he'd been in the Dark Realm, fighting Vanitas with Roxas... but he got the feeling he was no longer there. What had happened to him? Was Roxas still ok? Had they managed to save Aqua?

As he asked himself this his eyes continued to adjust. He seemed to lying at the center of a giant black dome. Against his cheek he could feel coldness as a multitude of colours made a sharp contrast against the monotonous, black dome walls.

The pressure on his shoulder vanished as Sora pushed himself up against his elbow, every muscle in the body screaming for him to stop. Sitting up he noticed that he had been lying on something that looked like glass- a giant circular disc of stained glass that made up the base of the dome. This place eerily reminded him of the glass display that held Beast's rose, separating it from the rest of the world, out of reach and sight. Safe but alone.

The colours, that he initially thought were just random, formed shapes and faces he vaguely recognised. Much to his surprise, a larger than life image of Roxas sleeping on his side on a bed of green of every shade imaginable made up the half of the disc before him. Within the youths hand was a keyblade Sora could not recognise and beside his head were two smaller circles, a face in each.

The one closest to Roxas's sleeping was made of hues of blue and Sora recognised Aqua's faintly smiling face. The other face, surrounded by neutral browns was a stern looking man who looked unnervingly like Xehanort only with brown hair and green eyes rather than the usual white and amber.

"What the..." his voice croaked, trying to make heads and tails of what he was seeing... what he _had_ been seeing. The devastated worlds, his tormented friends, Were those images real? Were they illusions? Image from the present? The Future that could or would happen? How had the battle with Vanitas ended? How had he ended up here? Wherever _here_ was anyway.

His head hurt from all the questions. Sora tried to move his arms again, his body felt lighter then usual but also heavier, like it was openly protesting against every movement Sora tried to make.

"It's a lot to take in, I'd imagine." It was the voice of before, the one that had pulled him out of the darkness. On potesting legs, Sora jumped up and turned to face to source, it had come from behind him.

"Roxas?" The boy standing before him looked identical to his Nobody. However although they were physically the same Sora could sense a difference.

Feeling his eyes droop Sora shook his head, shrugging of the sudden sleep. He cought a glimpse of the last half of the disc the two teenagers stood upon. The glass on this side was red in colour with an image of a sleeping boy who looked disturbingly like Sora, an unknown keyblade within his grasp, similar to the one in the image of Roxas. Like with with the other half, to encircled faces decorated the area around the face. The one closest to it was mainly pink in colour with a girl who was undoubtedly Kairi. The second was purple and violet, Riku's determined face unmistakable.

"I assume you have many questions." Sora turned his attention to the boy once again, who looked at him with cool blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Yes he had many, but that seemed like the most important question at that moment.

BREAK

"You're acting weirder than usual, Roxas." Commented Axel, putting a reassuring hand on the younger boys shoulder.

"I'm the one acting weird?!" Roxas shrugged him off, taking a step back. "Lea, where's Riku and the rest? Did you find Aqua and Kairi?"

"I'm really starting to believe I did melt your brain back there… and it's Axel! what was the point of me teaching you if you were going to just going to forget it like that?"

"Lea… Axel… whatever you're calling yourself, are the others here?! Are they ok?"

"Others? At headquarters I'd assume, most of them returning from their missions probably."

"Missions..?" Things just weren't making sense! Why was Lea here, dressed like that? Acting like this?

Lea looked up st the rosey sky, "We aren't expected back for a little while, why don't we celebrate with a good popsicle?"

"We don't have time for that!"

"We're Nobodies, we've got nothing but time!" Then Lea grabbed his wrist and winked. "And you wouldn't want to keep her waiting dontou?"

Roxas felt like he should have struggled... complained how, for better or worse, neither one of them was still a Nobody... stopped Lea from leading him to some shop to buy ice cream but he found himself asking, "Her?"

"Welcome back Roxas, Axel." Xion's beaming face almost caused Roxas to fall over the ledge of the clock tower. If Lea, his patience wearing thin, hadn't caught his hood, it wouldn't have been just ice cream splattered in the floor below.

"Roxas, are you ok? It looks like you've seen a ghost!" Xion enquired almost standing. But Lea handed her a popsicle and indicated to sit back down.

"Roxas got a little roughened up and that might have affected the little intelligence he had." Explained Lea sitting down and unwrapping his popsicle. Roxas could see, just like in old times, there was a space in the ledge between the two were he was meant to sit.

Roxas gripped the still wrapped ice cream in his hand, a part of him wanted to sit down and join him, another part of him wanted to run. This wasn't right, this time had passed and ended long ago.

"You're sure he's ok?" Repeated Xion, Roxas could hear the worry in her voice, it was so real and familiar- just like the Xion he knew.

"Roxas, plant your butt, don't you know it's not right to make a lady worry?"

Roxas looked down at the ice cream in his hand, condensed water dropped from its cover.

"Roxas..?" Xion asked again.

He looked at the place waiting for him, the pendent pulsed on his chest. Was it warning him to step away? But looking at the faces of his friends, he took a step forward. Even if this was some illusion, what harm could sharing a sea salt Ice Cream cause?


	24. Xion

Roxas yawned off the sleep as Saix herded the Organization members into a drowsy line. Demyx's head was drooping slightly besides Roxas, drool dripped from the side of his mouth. Luxord flicked his sleeping neighbor's temple, causing Demyx to jump to life with an incoherent garble of words. Xion tried to suppress a giggle besides Roxas while Axel rolled his eyes at their antics.

Saix however was either oblivious to their actions or had chosen to ignore them as he continued to drone out about that day's assignments.

"Xion and Roxas, you'll be heading to the Beast's castles, we've gotten word of a large gathering of heartless in the area."

Xion beamed up at Roxas, obviously excited about them having another mission together, Roxas smiled back as Saix concluded his usual morning briefing. Saix had been pairing Roxas up with either Axel or Xion much more than usual recently, something Roxas was not going to complain about, he'd had enough bonding time with some of the other members to last a lifetime.

"We'll head off in 5." Roxas said leading Xion to the nearest dark portal as she munched on an apple she'd hidden in her cloak.

"The sooner we get this done the sooner we can meet Axel for ice cream after." She said between bites.

Roxas allowed Xion to finish her breakfast before he raised his hand and willed a portal to appear.

"I wonder if you'll see your mystery girl again this time." Joked Xion.

"She's not my mystery anything." Defended Roxas.

"Well, she only talks to you and you are the only one who can see her so that makes her your mystery lady." Laughed Xion as she jumped into the portal.

Roxas wanted to protest as he followed her but he'd barely been surrounded by the swirling black smoke when he saw her. She appeared ethereally beautiful, with snow-pale skin and golden hair and eyes so large and bright they seemed to look right into Roxas's heart (if he'd had one anyway)... And she looked exactly like Xion, a point he'd avoided mentioning to the others- that would have just have made things weirder!

She blocked his path like usual, her blue eyes wide and her mouth moving in a silent shout. Like usual he wondered what she was trying to tell him, but whatever she was it seemed she couldn't speak. But her eyes were pleading as she put a hand on each of his shoulders to stop him, but there was no pressure where her small hands touched and he walked through her as if she were just made of light. He didn't even look back as he exited the portal and allowed it to shrink and vanish.

"I take it she was there?" Xion pointed at the pendent Roxas wore under his cloak, it was growling so brightly it could be seen through the cloak's thick material and it felt unpleasantly warm against his chest. "That thing always glows after you meet her."

He's wondered for some time from where he'd gotten that necklace and why he insisted on wearing it. Some of the others had even enquired about it, Saix to the point of warning that it was a violation of Organisation uniform! But whenever he tried to, his hands always seemed reluctant to remove it.

Roxas shrugged. "Same old, same old, I'd like to know what she's saying one of these days."

"Probably declaring her undying love for you." She joked but the girl's face flashed before his eyes, her features almost identical to Xion's. Those pleading eyes... he highly doubted that's what she was saying.

"I wonder if we'll see Belle and Beast while we are here…" voiced Roxas, changing topic and leading the way through the castle's corridors. Nothing had changed since the last time he'd been here. Faded out paintings decorated the walls, whose wallpaper was ripped and curling. Unknown stains were splattered across the carpeted floors while the rich furniture had lost its shine a long time before.

"You've been here before? " asked Xion, casually walking beside him as the two kept an eye out for any heartless, though there didn't seem to be any so far.

"Yes… with you…?" Roxas bow cringed as he tried to remember the details.

"I've definitely never been here before."

Roxas frowned as he searched for the memory, but the more he searched the more it dodged and vanished.

The two walked up to an oversized door, Roxas still lost in thought.

"I can sense them in there- and there are a lot." Whispered Xion, she extended her hand and the silver blade of the Kingdom key appeared within her grip.

Roxas could sense them too, there presence was stifling there were so many . He shook his head, clearing the fog as he conjured oathkeeper.

"I bet I can collect more hearts than you!" Declared Xion putting a hand on the door.

The confusion finally vanishing, Roxas put a hand on the door as well.

"You're on!" He laughed and the two teenagers pushed open the doors and ran though, keyblades ready.

They entered a ballroom that, even in its unkept state was still beautiful, in a creepy kinda way. The walls were gold with floral fleur de lys flowers curling around the border. Marble pillars stood, cracked and injured, holding the tethered remained of blue damask curtains. Ceiling high windows, most broken, allowed both the morning light and wind to stream through, making the black fidgeting carpet of Heartless that greeted them clear as day. Majority seemed to be your standard heartless, with uncharacteristic features such as tapering ears. Larger Neoshadows, jumped from pillar to pillar, a feat made easy by their muscular body. Wading through the masses were a number of rose like heartless their vibrant red petals contrasting sharply with the other heartless.

Roxas charged past Xion, taking the lead and leaping over the of flight of stair before him, taking out a few of the Heartless upon landing. Xion was not so lucky, having been intercepted by a few of the Neoshadows that had jumped onto the staircase. Without much of comment Xion countered their attack, turning them into a flurry of light without much of a word.

Satisfied that Xion was handling herself well Roxas turned his attention to the horde of heartless around him, picking easily through the smaller heartless that grabbed for his cloak and arms. Their numbers might have been large but they weren't really any trouble for him, he'd been improving with the Keyblade, would have even given Sora [YG1] a run for his money this time!

Roxas paused mid swing, his mind trying to reverse that final thought.

Had he just mentioned someone? A name?

But just like before, the more he searched for it the more the memory eluded him.

He cursed as he elbowed a Neoshadow in frustration, what was going on? He slashed at another heartless, its quivering body quickly being replaced by another, his attacks seemed to be having no effect on their numbers. An unreasonable amount of frustration filled his being, was it because of the heartless that just kept coming? The mysterious girl that filled his thoughts? Or the memories that eluded the grasp?

"Roxas"

The youth was knocked sideways by a neoshadow, his attention momentarily distracted by the sudden calling of his name. He was sent flying towards the column, grabbing on a thorn piece of damask to stop his fall

"Xion?!" he called as he dangled from the piece, heartless jumped below his feet like hungry sharks. Looking round Xion was still by the stairs, handling the heartless that attacked her without much worry.

"Roxas".

The voice was low and quiet yet it was loud and clear within Roxas's Mind, and now, seeing Xion fighting some distance away he realized the voice was not hers. It was coming from across the ballroom.

Roxas had no problem finding her, even within the column's shadow the white being was a blinding contrast to the Heartless that surrounded her but remained out of her reach, as if afraid to be touched the light-like creature.

It was the girl from the portal!

She looked at him intently, her eyes meeting his.

She opened her mouth and a few seconds after she closed it her voice reached him like an echo.

Roxas

He must have reacted in some way because she seemed both shocked and excited to be heard.

She opened and closed her mouth for a few seconds, her voice being delayed but eventually it reaching him.

Roxas you've got to wake up!

Wake up? Roxas wondered at her words, forgetting the heartless that swarmed below him, his racing pulse and sweaty palms made him believe he was wide awake, so what did she mean? "The castle is…"

But whatever she was going to say about the castle, Xion's loud and clear warning pierced his concentration, almost making him lose his grip,

"Roxas look out!" she shrieked trying to run towards him though the heartless that blocked her path.

Too late did he notice the shadow that had fallen over him as he focused on the mysterious girl, a cold dark chain whipped itself around his neck, instantly cutting off all air to his lungs. Roxas let go of the curtain as, with his one free hand he tried to pull of his restraint, his eyes bugging as he tried to see what had captured him.

A massive black orb was manifesting itself from the hanging tip of the ballroom's golden chandelier. Like a maw of a badly carved pumpkin, its red mouth snapped hungrily at the ground below, its amber eyes shooting from side to side as if crazed. It had two large red-tipped horns and several smaller ones, tentacles protruded from its body as it began to form. Around it's body, keeping it anchored to the chandelier were several chains, swaying forcefully through the air, knocking over and grabbing heartless indiscriminately. It was a Shadow Stalker and it was one of its' chains that was strangling Roxas at that moment.

Releasing his weapon Roxas pulled at the restrains, his vision becoming painfully blurry.

"Roxas!" Xion's voice was unmistakable. There was a jeering motion as the pressure around his neck weakened. He coughed, as he landed on an unsuspecting Heartless, its disintegrating body cushioning his landing.

"Th-thanks Xion." Roxas wretched as the girl ran towards him, her keyblade glowing in her hand.

"We've got to get back." She panted, pushing back a chain that had slithered beside her, trying to grab at her ankle. "There are just too many of them!"

Roxas nodded, this coughing as he tried to stand. He messaged the sore skin around his neck where the chains had tried to crush him. "That thing is far stronger than your average heartless!"

"There must be a mass contraction of hearts here." Xion said, pushing even more monsters out of their path as they tried to make their way to the exit.

"We need to get help!" panted Roxas trying to conjure his weapon but he saw something from the corner of his eye and quickly dodged as another spear-headed chain attempted an attack. The shadow stalker growled from above as the two Organization members danced through its attacks, countering the heartless with the best of their skill.

"I'll conjure a portal!" Roxas yelled already focusing on the darkness, even if a few made it to headquarters, with the others around they definitely stood a better chance!

The cold air began to swirl before him, the dark smoky portal appearing with ease. He grabbed Xion's wrist, her attention still directed on the monsters around them. He pulled her toward it, her weapon keeping the heartless at bay however, she missed one.

His still sore neck screamed in agony at the sharp pressure. Xion tugged at his arm, making the pain worse as she tried to lead him to the safety of the portal. Croaking out a protest he raised his hand to the source. He fingers traced and then grabbed hold of the metal chain of his pendent that was pressing harshly against his skin. With agonizing movement, he turned his head slightly, one of the monster's chains had grabbed hold of necklace he had hung around his neck and was slowly pulling him towards itself, strangling him in the process.

"Roxas you've got to leave it!" Xion's eyes were wide, pleading as she tugged at his hand urging him to just break the thing that held him captive. To escape with her to where the portal was waiting for them.

Roxas could feel the chain of the pendent pressing against his neck, it would slowly strangle him if he did not decide. But what choice was that? Let the necklace tear and escape to freedom with his best friend? Or allow it to pull him towards the hungry jaws of the monster behind him.

The answer was a non-brainer so why did he hesitate? He could not remember why he insisted on wearing this darn necklace so why was he so reluctant to part if that led to saving his life?

It would be so easy, a step forward, that's all it would take. Although he could feel the chain's strangling pressure it would be frail to any other force. It would snap simply and without a second thought.

"C'mon Roxas!" Xion yelled again, her cheeks were flushed as she held his hand in hers. She held him steady, and yet she did not pull, as if it were his job to take that step and break the thread.

The necklace meant nothing to him, the logical thing to do was let the heartless have it.

Leave it behind…

Just as he was about to take it however, Xion's face contorted upon itself as if dozens of images of the young girl were superimposed on each other. Through the haze he could still see her face. Begging for him to save his life, another was smiling, another contorted in pain, another was in midspeach, the voice seemingly composed of a dozen similar voice, all starting just milliseconds apart.

"D-don't …. Sora!" the voice stammered, full words lost in the process. "Needs… help. This is … real. You... n't loose… soul!"

It might have been from the lack of oxygen, Xion's words made no sense. What was this about a soul? But that name… Sora… yes! That was the name he'd thought of before! it was so similar to his own. Why did the mention of such a name seem to upheaval all these emotions within Roxas that made no sense? They had no link to the Organization, nor Xion and Axel but it still felt as if it were linked to him.

Emotions of frustration and annoyance and irritation as well as those of anger and self-loathing… and there was something else too, the same thing he felt each time he smiled at Xion or shared a popsicle with Axel. It felt as if this name held an important part in his heart.

He looked at Xion again, her eyes begged but she made no other move but her voice still rang in his ears, Sora needs help. Sora needed his help?

It all felt so surreal but then, was this actually real?

Although the Xion that held him looked like Xion, and spoke and acted like Xion, something now told him that this was not his Xion.

That Xion had vanished long ago.

"I'm sorry Xion." Roxas choked, "I can't stay with you this time either."

And without much effort he allowed his hand to slip out of her grip. It had barely done so when the Shadow Stalker's second chain arm whipped around his waist and pulled him towards it gaping black mouth.

Roxas closed his eyes as the monster released him into the pit of it mouth, his hand gripping tightly to the pendant that glowed faintly through his fingers.


	25. Meeting

Now Sora's head was really hurting.

"So wait… let me get this straight." he said, pacing across the glass floor, his arms waving as he spoke. "You are Ventus, the same Ventus that we, along with the evil Xehanorts have been looking for all these years. Your body, from all places, is sleeping in Castle Oblivion because, correct me if I'm wrong, you're heart has been recovering inside mine for, give or take,10 years because it was too badly injured the last time you fought Vanitas to survive alone. Now, said creep, has taken over my own body because, in bringing Roxas to life, I gave him too much of my own Light, leaving myself vulnerable in the Dark Realm when he attacked.

"Vanitas made me into the final Vessel of Darkness and is heading to Castle Oblivion, as we speak, with the real Organisation XIIIi to destroy your body, create the X-blade and open Kingdom Hearts, engulfing the worlds in Darkness and giving him, Xehanort, unlimited power. On the brightside, me loosing to Vanitas allowed me to finally reach a state where I could meet you, sorta.

"Please stop me if I'm getting this wrong!"

"Actually, it seems you got a pretty good handle of the situation." commented Ventus. The youth was still sitting casually on the glass floor, with the same look he'd often seen on Roxas's face because well, another mind blowing fact, although Roxas was Sora's nobody his appearance manifested as Ventus, because why not? "The others really don't give you enough credit, you aren't as dense as they make you sound."

"I'm not sure if this is what a "good handle of the situation" would look like but thank you anyway." Sora stopped pacing,"Ok, moving on, how do we get out of here to stop Xehanort?"

"Ah, that's where it gets complicated."

"Ventus, everything you just told me was complicated, try me."

"Call me Ven." The youth quickly retorted, shrugging, standing and brushing off some invisible dust from his grey pants. "Ok then… you see this dome?"

"A little hard to miss."

"Well I erected this barrier to keep you, or whatever is left of you, safe from the Vanitas's darkness."

"So that blackness…"

"It isn't the dome." agreed Ventus. "The dome is keeping us both safe from it."

"But if I want to get my body back, it can't be from in here."

"Not only that." added Ventus, "The dome won't last much longer. When that happens the Darkness will flood in and if the two of us are overwhelmed by it, Xehanort would have won and there would be nothing your friends on the outside could do for either of us then."

Sora paused, running Ventus's words through his mind, his eyes focusing past the teen before him, on the black mass behind but no matter how much he strained his eyes, he could just see only black.

"Then we fight." he concluded, "if we can't beat it, we hold it back until the others on the outside figure something out and save you."

"Sora," there was a warning in the other boy's voice, "if the others wake me on the outside I'll leave this place, the little protection I can provide will vanish and you'd have to face all that alone."

Sora flexed his fingers, and much to Ventus's surprise the Kingdom Blade appeared in his hand. "Don't underestimate me."

However, before Ventus could voice a reply, the floor beneath their feet shifted and a low creak filled the silent air as, slolwy, a faint, silvery crack began to spread across the dome.

They had run out of time

* * *

Roxas moaned in pain. If you've ever been dragged through a washing machine while, somehow being on fire, that's just a portion of how Roxas's head felt. Behind his closed eyes he could still see Xion's face but now her words were clear and demanding, he'd never heard her be so determined

Roxas you must wake up!

Roxas couldn't even remember that he'd fallen asleep as he forced his eyes open but they didn't focus, couldn't. It was like he was seeing in duel vision, one part of him was here, in this painfully white room. He was hyper-aware of ever sensation, the cold more biting, the whiteness more suffocating. Another part of him was still frozen within that dark ballroom, he could still feel the Heartless's chains around his waist, see Xion, another Xion, stretching out her hand towards him.

Roxas couldn't even make himself react as the ballroom and Xion began to fade, allowing the white room to spread across his vision, the feeling less chill, the white only slightly less suffocating.

This was castle Oblivion he remembered… he'd come here with Kairi and Aqua… To find Ventus and rescue Sora...

A spell… had all he'd just been through been a result of the castle's protective spell? How much time had passed? It had felt like days but had it been just mere minutes? Or had it been longer?

The Organization… his friends… Axel… Xion… had those been memories? Or manipulations of the castle? He felt tears prick the side of his eyes, as if he'd just lost everything all over again.

"Nooooo!"

Who was that?

It sounded like a girl's voice, but it was neither Xion's or Namine's… no those he had left behind once again.

Then whose was it?

From the corner of his eye was a familiar glint as the light caught something.

His body reacted on its own. He didn't rub at the tears that still slid down his cheeks as, on stiff legs, he spun onto them and, working on instinct, he urged his keyblade to appear as he extended his arm.

He was too late… he wasn't going to make it… the world around him was moving too fast for him to see… too fast for him to understand.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move, as he pushed the sorrow deep within his heart. No! He refused to lose anyone else - he would protect them all!

But as the ring of metal against metal reached his ears and the room around him slowed to a normal pace he began to ask, who had he just protected? And from whom?

"And so sleeping beauty finally awakes." Roxas tensed at the leering, familiar voice. How had they found him… no that wasn't the real question… how long had he been under that spell? Was it too late?

12 black draped figures stood around him, so many familiar faces… some he had seen only moments ago within that illusion- Saix, Xigbar, Larxene, Luxord, Marluxia, Vexen- they all looked at him with contempt, their eyes now stained amber, their will now fully under Xehanort's control. Standing slightly apart from them were the three people Roxas hated the most right now, carrying different faces they shared the same voice… and the same darkness- Ansem, Young Xehanort and Xemnas stood, like some unholy trinity around the old croon that had started this all- Master Xehanort.

The years had not been kind, bent double, with veins and wrinkles crossing his darkened skin he appeared like a Darkness filled husk of the keyblade wielder he had once been. A hunger filled his evil eyes and, although Roxas didn't know the situation he now found himself in, he could feel that the old master knew victory was within his grasp.

By their feet, were two sturgling bodies. One, wearing the same black cloak as the others looked like Riku, but younger and he shared the same amber eyes as the rest. Had Riku somehow been norted during his absence?... no… Riku would not allow that to happen. But then his memory brought an image of the possessed Sora attacking his friends, he hadn't allowed himself to be possessed either…

However, what shocked Roxas, more then Riku's appearance was the girl he had captured but still struggling, in an inescapable headlock. Blood and bruises covered her bare arms and the sides of her head. The obvious injuries across the Riku look-alike told Roxas that Kairi had put up a fight, but in the end, she was still new to this world, she could not fend off the 11 of them alone… no, there were 12.

He finally directed his attention to the weapon he was blocking. Once blue eyes stared back at him in surprise. Brown hair was now streaked with white, an ominous black cloak covered his old friend's body .

Venitas hissed in anger as he tried to push the blade down against his own, towards whoever Kairi had been trying so hard to protect, whoever Roxas was now trying so desperately to save. Pushing against the weapon he steeled himself and risked a quick glance at what Venitias was trying to pierce.

Not what- who.

Roxas had seen many strange things in his short life, and that came in handy then and there for, any ameteur, at that moment, would have lowered his weapon in surprise, Venitas's blade would have gotten past him, and Xehanort would have finally won. But what Roxas saw only made him push back harder.

Roxas's and Venitas's blades were locked before a large white throne, not so different from that Roxas had once sat in during Organization meetings back in the day and, sitting within it, was a boy that looked identical to Roxas!


	26. What if?

Weirdly enough, the castle's curse had had no effect Kairi. As the possessed winds had swept Aqua and Roxas to who knows where, Kairi had just stood her ground. The same winds that berated her friends with the force of a tornado simple washed over her like a sea breeze lazily wafting over Destiny Islands. As the two keyblade master were separated from her, she tried to wrap her head around what was happening.

Even when the wind finally died and the doors slammed closed behind Aqua and Roxas and she ran towards one, forcing it open, all she found was an identical, totally empty, white room. She chewed on the thought of waiting there and letting the others find her, or even leaving the castle and heading back to the Gummi ship. But she dismissed both thoughts almost instantaneously, she had no time to wait, she had to save Sora.

And as she began her search, an idea came to her. Was that the reason why the castle's spell had not affected her?

She had to save Sora.

When she thought of the reason why she had come her, it was never to find Ventus, it was to save Sora.

To know where Ventus was but not search for him, that was what Aqua had said was the only way to actually find the sleeping boy. That could be the only explanation.

As she walked, lost, through the unfamiliar corridors and rooms, each one near identical to the one before, she met no one and heard no one. For all she knew the others had been blown right out of the castle. There was no way of knowing. So she walked, with an aim in mind but no direction or destination known.

The only sounds were her own steps, the had just barely ended before merging with the one she had just taken. How much time had passed? It was impossible to tell. Her legs felt tired, and she wondered how big could this castle possibly be?

But then she thought, what if she had just been walking in circles all this time?

What if she was under the castle's spell afterall?

What if she were cursed to spend the rest of her days, lost?

What if the others had already found Ventus?

Or what if they were looking for her?

Or what if they were suffering some unimaginable torture from the spell?

What if…?

Then another thought came to her, causing her heart to race, the blood to come rushing past her ears, deafening her steps. Her thoughts making her sway, forcing her to hold on to the walls for support

What if she were too late?

What if the Organization had already found Ventus?

What if it Vanitas had finally taken full control?

What if Sora had been completely lost?

But Kairi shook her head, her red hair obscuring her vision as she forced the thoughts to the back of her mind.

She would not think like that. She had trained these past months, she had become stronger, that would not be for nought.

With one hand still on the cool wall she closed her eyes, trying to quiet the deafening pounding of her heart.

With each breath she took, the rush dimmed but, as she concentrated she could feel a vaguely familiar sensation. It had been many years since she sensed anything like this, like a brush of a feather against her heart, whispering to her like a compass where she should go. The last time she'd felt something remotely like this was back in Hollow Bastion. Back then it had led her to a Heartless that had appeared like any of the others but who held Sora in its core.

Was this the same mysterious power of that time?

With renewed energy and confidence Kairi ran through the corridors, following this feeling without question.

She ran, stopping only when her path was blocked by a towering white door. In many ways it was the same like all the others she'd pass through, cold and quiet and covered in a multitude of symbols, some familiar, others alien. But behind this door, she could feel something, a presence… no she could sense the light of another's heart. Without hesitation she pushed past it and walked in.

The room she entered was impossibly high, symbols rose around her, making the walls seem even higher. There were no windows but the room was filled with a cold white light from an unknown source. In the center of the room, was a small stand, a handful of steps off the ground, upon it was what looked like a throne and in it, looking painfully small, was a boy.

He had messy blondish brown hair and pale skin… and looked exactly like Roxas! Kairi walked carefully towards him, he was so still she almost assumed the worst until she was close enough to see the slow rise and fall of his chest.

"Ventus." She breathed, as she looked at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful, it almost pained her that they would wake him to this world of hardships.

"Seems you were a little faster then me." a sniding voice reached her from behind. It took all her will not to spin around and yell his name. Instead she clenched her fist, allowing the warm feeling to spread up her arm as her keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, filled her palm with its familiar presence.

"Not even going to look at me before you attack?"

"I won't let you have him, Vanitas."

"Oh, I do wonder which _him_ you are referring to. Is it the sleeping boy before you? Or this husk of a body I've taken over?"

"Sora is still in there." She blurted out, finally turning to face the speaker.

She hated what she saw. Her childhood friend perverted into a being of Darkness. Sora's once warm blue eyes were now a cold gold, his once brown hair was streaked with silver, an Organisation XIII cloak was draped over him.

Vanitas let loose a maniacal laugh that sounded nothing like Sora's when he saw her.

"It's so adorable, you actually believe that."

Kairi bent her knees and pointed her keyblade to her side, much the way Sora fought, the way he had shown her how to fight.

"Get out of my way, girl." Hissed Vanitas, all amusement now gone from his voice.

"Over my dead body."

"Oh, that can be arranged." and he charged at her, Void Gear barely having manifested as he raised his glowing hand, the two keyblades crashing as the fight began.

"Sora, you've got to fight him." Kairi yelled into the boy's face, trying to push against him. But he slid his weapon against hers, pushing Destiny's Embrace sideways as he lunged once again. But Kairi quickly recovered, pivoting to block the attack.

"There's no one here to hear you." Whispered Vanitas into her ear, sending shivers down her spine, "Sora is gone."

"Then I'll just have to drag him back!" She yelled, elbowing her opponent in the stomach.

Vanitas stumbled back, not having expected such an attack. Without hesitation Kairi followed tout suite, Vanitas barely guarded in time. Kairi deflected his attack by grabbing his wrist, twisting it, and which one swift movement, kicked him behind the knees, knocking him to the ground as Void Gear was sent flying across the room.

"What kind of fighting style is that?!" complained Vanitas, panting as he rubbed his wrist and Kairi pointed her keyblade at his face. "It's not normal!"

"My weapon is pretty much a just a decked up baseball bat, nothing about me is normal." She countered.

"Then it's a good thing backup has arrived."

Kairi had not expected the voice that came from the entrance. Another voice from her childhood, this one still young however. Riku stood at the door, a group of hooded figures on either side of him, his eyes, just like Sora's, were amber. But upon seeing him Kairi knew that this wasn't her Riku, he was too young, he looked near exactly as Riku did the first time they had left Destiny Islands.

"Data Riku." said a raspy voice, as an older, skeletal hand pulled back one of the hoods to reveal a shriveled old man. "Help Vanitas, we need him relatively intact for this final phase."

"Very well, master." said the Riku look-alike, casually walking towards her as 'Way To The Dawn' appeared in his hand. Kairi took a calming breath, her weapon never leaving Vanitas neck while her eyes never left the advancing Data Riku.

Would she be able to hold them off?

She counted 12 enemies before her, 12 of Seekers of Darkness had now been collected and her she was, the only Guardian of Light.

If the twelve of them chose to attack her at once, this battle would be over painfully quickly, she doubted she could even handle Data Riku and Vanitas on her own. But she couldn't give up. She couldn't afford to loose. She had to protect Ventus until her allies, at least one, found their way here and she knew, one way or another, they would.

Thinking her distracted, Vanitas tried to kicked her knees from below her. However Kairi jumped back, dodging an attack from Data Riku in the meantime. Obviously angry, Vanitas's stretched out his hand, Void Gear zoomed into it like a trusty dog.

Kairi raised her weapon, now on guard, keep herself and the others a good distance away from Ventus. After all they had been through, she would not let ventus fall into the Darkness's hands.

So she continued to fight. Her breaths becoming sharper and more strained. Blood began to seep from newly forming scratches, her clothes cut where she failed to block, her skin already turning a darker shade where the attacks hit. But even like this she continued to defend, never once did she permit the enemy to take a step towards the sleeping teen.

But Kairi also knew they were toying with her. From Xehanort's wicked smile and his followers obedient silence, if they wanted to take Ventus, the old master just had to say the word, both kairi and him knew there was no chance that she'd be able to hold all of them off alone. His smile told it all, xehanort had won, she was just fighting on borrowed time.

"Seems the doppelgänger has appeared too." Growled Data RIku, as Kairi feinted and knocked him into his partner.

"Tsk!" was Vanitas only response.

Doppelgänger? Kairi spared the throne a quick glance. Lying before the throne like some bizarre offering was Roxas, looking identical to Ventus, his skin just as pale, his breath just as undetectable, just as death-like.

That quick glance was all they needed.

"Finish her!" Yelled Master Xehanort, an urgency in his voice. Kairi turned, the sharp edge of a keyblade crashing into her temple. She staggered back and, through blurred vision, saw a dark shadow fall over her. She felt strong arms around her wrists. She tried to struggle but her weapons was sent flying as she was pushed face first onto the cold floor. Her arms restrained behind her, a knee pressed on her back as Data Riku pushed down with all her weight against her useless struggling.

"Vanitas, finish him of." Master Xehanort ordered as he led his group further into the room.

"With pleasure." Sneered Vanitas through Sora's face.

"Sora you've got to fight!" She yelled, earning her another hit in the head. Kairi saw stars but her voice continued to flow. "Fight him! You can't let them win! I know you are stronger than this!"

But if Sora heard her he made no sign as he walked past the still sleeping Roxas, his grip tightening on his keyblade as he stood before Ventus.

"Like I already told you," he snarled ,"Sora is no longer here!" And he raised his weapon.

"Noooooooo!" She shrieked and through her struggles she saw two things. The most obvious was Roxas's sudden awakening and miraculous blocking of Vanitas's, the other was much smaller, almost indistinguishable but Kairi was certain she'd seen it- Vanitas attack has slowed with her yell, his eyes, for the briefest moment, had flickered to blue.

Sora must have heard her!

 **Hey y'all, Luna Pendragon here, thanks so much for reading and thanks for being so patient. I know the chapters have been a little staggered but I'm going to do my best to finish before KH3 release (because I know you'll all be too busy playing to read this ;) ) so what do you guys think? Hope the story hasn't gotten to boring but drop a review, I always love to hear from you guys! Until next time- Luna Pendragon.**


	27. Sacrifice

Master Xehanort barely reacted to Roxas's intrusion. That Nobody was simply pawn that was discarded long ago, his return was just a minor flaw in his plan, a hiccup really.

"Should we help the brat?" Xigbar asked, his palms already reaching for where his Arrowguns were concealed. It had been a painfully long time since he'd been in a fight, and he was itching for one.

"Xigbar don't meddle in the affairs of others." Scolded Saix, crossing his arms as his eyes followed the battle between Roxas and Vanitas that quickly commenced.

"It's not meddlin' I just wanna help the newbie out." protested Xigbar, raising his hands as if in defence.

"This is the role the boy must play out." explained Xemnas patiently, as if to a child.

"Such a drag the kid gets to have all the fun though." complained Larxene, looking at her nails, obviously bored

"I understand you excitement and your impatience." calmly interceded Master Xehanort, his voice clear and harsh. "But if we wish the plan to succeed it _must_ be Vanitas that vanquishes the boy."

"But he just has to take up the kid's heart that was in Sora, why's the body so important?" retorted Larxene, the little patience she had already wearing thin.

"It would be pointless to explain the complexities of the details of the Master's plan to the like of such simple minded henchmen." It was Young Xehanort that responded, his tone condescending.

"Henchmen?!" hissed Larxene, her knifes instantly appearing between her fingers, her back bent ready to attack. It was only Luxord's hand on her elbow that warned the enraged women not to do anything foolish.

"You were rather arrogant in your youth, Master." commented Ansem.

However the old man didn't answer, he hadn't trusted most of the members of the Organization with the fine details of his plan. Although Vanitas had full control of Sora's body, the boy's heart was still struggling. In its weakened state it was merely a stubborn ember in a winter ghast. When that ember finally went out, Roxas's heart would be theirs for the taking, but his body had to be destroyed, they couldn't have him escaping again now could they? And then, only then, when the heart was released would they be taken to where they had to be, where Kingdom Hearts the and X-blade awaited him.

Although Kairi struggled, her eyes never left the two boys fighting before her. She'd never seen two people so so similar and yet so strikingly different. But as her eyes followed the battle, her ears followed the conversation behind her. They had revealed far less then she had hoped but they had made something very clear, their plan banked on Vanitas destroying Ventus's body, so what were to happen if the boy woke up before that?

But that brought forth another problem, how to wake a boy who had been put in a magic slumber for almost a decade? The noise of battle hadn't even induced the slightest reaction and Kairi highly doubted this was the type of enchanted sleep that could be ended with True Love's kiss. Aqua would have known the answer, but she had yet to appear. Kairi had no time to waste worrying about her faith, she had to deal with the here and now while she could, before it was too late .

There might be someone else who knew how to break the enchantment- the sleeping boy himself. The evil woman had said something about Ventus's heart being inside Sora's, that alone brought about a boat load of questions, but those would have to be asked later.

If Sora's heart had been completely engulfed by the Darkness, Vantus would surely have been too. That was the belief of Xehanort and his followers, but that brief , brief moment, when Vanitas's amber eyes had flickered to Sora's blue, that was all the evidence Kairi needed to know Sora had not been defeated yet.

But then another problem came to mind. How would she communicate with a boy hiding within another heart?

She was a Princess of Heart, that should have been child's play! Yen Sid had told her many times that the Princesses of Heart held many mysterious powers, and that she'd know when and how to use them when their time was needed. So as she closed her eyes, and focused on Vanitas uneven breathing as he fought, she hoped that this was one such a time.

* * *

Sora was having a hard time holding off the Darkness. With each crack that Ven managed to close, another one appeared, larger and deeper than the one before, Darkness seeping in like something from a horror movie.

For some reason (though Sora was certain Ventus knew why), he was the only one from the two teens that could conjure up a keyblade within this dome and so Sora remained on the front lines, on the defensive, trying to destroy any Darkness that got past Ven's defences. At first very little got through, as Ven nearly instantly forced the cracks to close. The little that did enter took the shape of soot balls and would come to an easy end under Sora's shoe.

But as sweat beads began to appear across Ven's brow, his whole body shook and his breath began to become more laboured, the cracks begin to last a lot longer. And so the Darkness that entered was a lot larger. Most now took the shape of Sora himself, just his outline really and they attacked him with their hands and teeth like some rapid zombies. And as they attacked they whispered, whispered things to drag Sora into the darkness with them. His keyblade pierced each and every one, choosing to ignore those whispers.

"Ven!" he yelled, already running towards his next target. "More are coming in!"

"I can see that." the other boy muttered as he tried to fill the crack with light, but Sora's reserves, and his own, where dwindling fast in this heart. "This isn't going to keep working for long!"

"I'm open to suggestions!" called out Sora, dodging another shadow's attack.

But instead of a plan he received a rather unheroic 'yelp' from the boy behind him. Fearing that the the Darkness had somehow slipped past him and made directly for Ven, Sora turned his back to his adversary to see what that caused ven to yell. The sight almost caused him to have the same reaction. Standing a hair's breadth in front of Ventus, her eyes closed, her body translucent like a ghost, a dim light shimmered across her body, was Kairi.

"Kairi!?" yelled Sora, now completely forgetting the Shadows as he ran towards her. Kairi's eyes slowly opened as his voice reached her. She showed little reaction when she saw Ven's surprised face before hers but she practically beamed as she turned towards Sora.

"I knew Vanitas was lying!" she whispered happily, so low that only Ven could hear her.

"Kairi what are you doing here? How?" Sora tried to put his hands on her shoulders, but they just passed through, as is she were really just made of light.

"I don't know." she quickly said." looking at Sora's face, etching it back into her memory, returning everything Xehanort that corrupted with what it should have been. "I don't know how much time I have either." she added now turning to address both boys at once.

"Must be some Princess of Heart stuff." mumbled Ven, regaining his composure

"Roxas is fighting Vanitas as we speak trying to protect Ven's body."

"Makes sense, if they destroy me on the outside I'd be really trapped here."

"So we need to know how to wake you up." Kairi had no idea how long this form would last, she had to get all the answers she could now.

"You can't." Was Ven's quick response.

"What?!" Kairi's panicked look must have told Cen to elaborate.

"I mean only Sora can release me and break my sleep."

"Wow I've seen enough enchanted sleeps to know how to break those. Sorry bro but we've only just met!" Sora joked, but neither Kairi nor Ventus lougheed.

"You need to release me from your Heart. " Ventus continued.

"Okay sounds simple. "

"But he can't" Ventus persistently continued.

"Why!?" yelled Kairi, frustration now clear in her voice.

"Because to do that Sora would need to take control of his body and to do that I'd need to take down my protection and he must march into that Darkness alone!" Ventus pointed at the swirling blackness that was now persistently pouring through a crack he had failed to fill. "Not only that, even if he did menage that, I'd no longer be here to protect Sora's Heart and then Vanitats would have finally taken control."

"What!?" Kairi cried out again, "There has to be another way!"

"So that's why you didn't tell me this earlier?" complained Sora.

"I thought you'd be bull headed about it and do it no matter what I said." added Ventus.

"He's got a point." said Kairi trying to put a warning hand on his shoulder, but all he could feel was a warm sensation, however, after hearing Ventus's words, Sora knew what he had to do and he wished he could feel Kairi's hand on his shoulder one more time.

"We'll think of anther way." Kairi was saying, "Maybe when Aqua finds us she'd have a better way…"

But Sora knew there was no better way.

Sora's heart must have revealed something because Ven reacted a lot faster then Kairi did, sensing his resolve. However it was too late as he reached out to grab him, Sora was already sprinting towards the crack.

"Sora!" he yelled he voice trembling as he saw towards what Sora was running. If he closed the cracks, all of them, Sora wouldn't be able to anything foolish.

"Sora no!" Kairi yelled, running after him, but even if she caught up with him, she had no physical form with which to hold him back.

The crack began to shrink as Sora ran towards it, the keyblade in his hand glowing brighter with every step he took. Ven put all his strength into closing that one crack, he refused for Sora to be a sacrifice to save him, he had done enough for him already. The crack should have been too small for Sora to pass through , Ven should have managed in time. But with a quick slash of his keyblade the crack grew once again.

"Stop!" yelled Ventus, running after him.

"Sora!" cried Kairi, her outstretched hand passing through his hood as he leaped into the Darkness, his light vanishing within it.

* * *

Roxas and Vanitas were an even match, in both skill and tenacity they were on the same level, but Roxas had to be weary of his surroundings while Vanitas did not. There were far more of Vanita's allies then his own, and they had a hostage within their grasp and he had a sleeping boy to try protect.

"Just give up Roxas." said Vanitas. "You played your part to the letter, you did us a great service, there's no need for me to end you here. Enjoy the life he gave you, I see no need to vanish again."

"It's because he gave me this life that I must save Sora!" Roxas angrily attacked but Vanitas playfully blocked.

He laughed easily but then, mid breath he stopped. Roxas's eyes widened as he saw the change before him.

Vanitas's eyes had blurred back into blue.

The boy that must have been Sora smiled sadly at Roxas. "Please, protect them a little longer for me, Roxas." he whispered stepping back and raising his weapon above his head. As he did so Void Gear faded out of sight to be replaced by the Kingdom Key.

"No!" yelled Master Xehanort realising what had happened. "Stop him!"

And the Organisation members charged.

"Sora!" yelled Kairi, a plea clear in her voice as Data Riku struggled against his captive, anew.

Sora closed his eyes, he gripped his keyblade with both hand.

"Ven, wake." he whispered, tears streaking down his cheeks as he plunged the blade into his heart.

 **And that's another one! Hahaha don't know why but that new trailer inspired me to update again. Now someone asked, by my calculations around 3 more chapters are left so we are finally reaching the big conclusion! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to drop a review, I always love to hear from you. Until next time! -Luna Pendragon.**


	28. Graveyard

There was something profoundly unsettling about the the Keyblade Graveyard. On a world devoid of any form of life all that was were the remnants of a time so old it had been nearly erased from time. But the land never forgot. The scars of scattered keyblades were ugly and unsightly, the years unkind, their vibrants colours mercilessly weathered away, leaving just rusted black husks behind. The wind silently blew through then, disturbing the dust and sand as if the ghostly feet of their nameless wielders continued to fight for a cause they themselve could no longer remember.

It had been many a year since this world have been disturbed by a living being but the man that walked across it now, his face shrouded in shadow and mystery, remembered this land long before it became the last resting place of so many mislead hearts, some of which had been like children to him. But that was his curse, even as he had trained his beloved students across this once green planes he knew of near every moment that built up to this one.

The old master stood at the peak of an ancient cliff, his black cloak unchanged over the centuries. He watched patiently where he had foretold the final battle would unfold. His writings had been near correct, every step, every breath had happened as he had seen. His one discremitcy had come in the form of a shaggy haired teenage boy. Three years ago the protagonist of this story had changed. He had envisioned another island dweller, a silver haired youth, leading this final battle, the sole battle whose outcome the Master couldn't see but from his observations someone else had been chosen ad since that moment the story had changed, subtly, but i thad changed.

"Any minute now." He murmured, crossing his arms, the thrilling conclusion to a tale that spanned the eons.

* * *

The light had barely faded from around Roxas as he leapt to stop Sora's suddenly limp body from falling to the ground, both weapons vanishing as he did so. Roxas's instincts told him to focus, they were no longer in Castle Oblivion. The walls around them were gone, the light now harsh and dessert-like. A dry wind hit his face as his shoes scraped against dust and sand. The throne had vanished and the boy that looked just like him was lying upon the ground, his eyes still closed but an ethereal light surrounded him like a thin film.

Kairi's yell was no less piercing in the new environment, as her injuries burned affresh, she struggled anew against her now bewildered captor. Most of the Organisation members were equally confused, voicing outraged questions but Master Xehanort paid them no heade. He had expected the battle to lead here one way or another, to the place where it had all began. Years of experience had paid off, his trump card was already in place.

"Sora! What did you do!?" Roxas was yelling, shaking Sora's unmoving body. "You idiot! What did you do this time?!"

But Sora refused to respond.

 _Please, protect them a little longer for me, Roxas_

That's what the boy had told him. Damn that boy and his heroics! Roxas was yelling internally. What had he given up this time? Whose soul had he tried to save? Damn it Sora! Why did he always need to be the hero of this story?

His vision was blurred, his thoughts muffled, his senses muted by Kairi's frantic cries. He didn't see the youth in his arms adjust his hand ever so subtly, or the the dark glow that surrounded it.

A second later he would have been dead.

He should have been dead many times overs by then, but why did the Fates insist on saving him?

There was a push on his shoulder, and Roxas was sent staggering to the ground.

"So we meet again, Ventus."

Brushing the sand out of his eyes, Roxas balanced on his feet, his heart pounding. Sora was back on his feet, his eyes like molten gold.

"I wish it was under better circumstances." The person who had pushed Roxas out of his way now stood before Vanitas, an unknown keyblade blocking his Darkness covered hand, staring into his eyes, an inch shorter, was the boy who had been sleeping only moments before. The same boy who had triggered the events that had led up to this moment almost a decade before. The same boy who looked exactly like him.

Roxas cursed under his breath, so that's what Sora had done. And he cursed again at Sora for good measure. That self sacrificing idiot! That idiot had given his body, heart and soul to protect a bunch of ungrateful worlds and for what? To be remembered by them as a stranger passing through? Sora took everything upon himself and had saved his friends countless time, without a care for what it cost him, claiming they were his power. He had left the only world he'd ever known to save his childhood friends. Without any regard for himself he'd jumped head first in the Dark Realm to save a stranger. He had done the impossible and brought back someone who never deserved to be alive in the first place! But each win had had it's costs.

"Enough of this idle chatter." Master Xehanort stood forwards his men surrounding the boys in no time, their weapons all pointed at them. There would be no hesitation, they just waited on the old mans order. "The game is set. Even with Ventus awake we have the upper hand."

"You have no hope of defeating us." Xemnas spoke as if negotiating a deal. " One of you is already incapacitated and you two boys are smart enough to know that you cannot win against all of us alone."

"It's a good thing they aren't alone then." A new, familiar voice washed over Ventus, making his heart race in excitement. It had been so long since he'd heard that voice. It was Aqua, head held high and stride confident. Axel and Mickey walked beside her, a grim determination on both their faces. Aqua's composure broke for a moment when she saw Ven, a smile flickering across her face. Ventus smiled at her as he pushed a surprised Vanitas back, catching a glimpse of Riku out of the corner of his eye, his weapon already drawn against Data Riku and his captive.

"How are you here!?" yelled Vanitas, gazing quickly at his comrades as if for answers.

"Master Equus told me who I'd need and where to go." Aqua simply explained stopping in her tracks and addressing Xehanort.

"Even after death her continues to oppose me." Sighed Xehanort shaking his head. " He never knew how to quite."

" What he did know was that I'd be unable to break the spell cast on Castle Oblivion, so instead he'd left me instructions."

"The game may be set but the checkmate is still a long way away." Added King Mickey, looking up at his appointments in defiance.

"Really now?"

Master Xehanort pointed to the dimming sky, dark ominous clouds were gathering, flashes of lightning blinded those on the surface, thunder deafening them with Zeus's fury. But with each clap and flash something that looked like a door began to manifest. Even with the appearance of his enemy, Xehanort smiled triumphantly "As was foretold only when all the pieces have gathered would Kingdom Hearts reveal itself upon the ancient graveyard and the opening key, the X-blade forged."

"I'm not sure if the years have made you slow old man." Casually voiced Lea, "But you guys seem to be one short."

" You were not the only one, Aqua, who knew of this location before hand." And Xehanort snapped his fingers. A portal of Darkness appeared and the final Vessel of entered the stage.

 **And that's another one! First off wanted to wish you all a very happy holiday season! So what did you guys think? Thank you so much for reading and feel free to drop a review, I always love to hear from you guys. Until till next time!- Luna Pendragon**


	29. Battle

You almost missed the show, Luxu." The Master of Masters barely turned as he acknowledged his ancient student.

The cloaked man stopped as he released the almost chest-high box behind him. A mysterious compartment that had seen every world in every era, made of a material so black it seemed to draw light towards it, swallowing it without mercy. The red eye upon its surface, that had upon its last appearance before the Master, been wide open, was now a barely visible slit. When it finally closed, the Master's Vision would have reached its end and the seal broken. The final chapter of his book of prophecy would have been written and it's hoarded secrets would be revealed.

"Tugging this along the centuries really wears down the feet." Complained the younger man as he stood besides his master. Since they parted their paths had never once crossed, but the ease that fell between them was natural and comforting. Once, five others had shared this comfort as comrades in arms would or as fellow students under the same tutarage. It had been many years since Luxu had thought of those that had departed these worlds so long ago.

"That group down there remind me of you." The Master said. The question must have been obvious in Luxu's stance as he looked down at the strange assortment of people below them. Was his Master calling him an old man? Or meaning that Luxu reminded him of a mouse? "Not just you, I mean all of you guys." his gaze fell on the cloakless wielders below.

"Aqua's moral compass is almost as unwavering as Invi's used to be, while Riku is as much a warrior of Justice as Aced. I can imagine Axel and Gula would have made a compatible pair while Kairi's calming nature is almost on par with Ava's. King Mickey is a leader much like Ira had been."

"So I take it that that blond kid… what's his name- Roxas? Is me in this scenario?" Luxu concluded seeing where the Master of Masters was going with this.

"Ventus too. They even look like you!" joked the older man.

"And the final vessel has entered the stage at last." Observed Luxu, ignoring the comment with skill.

The two watched as the final player walked silently onto the battlefield.

"Luxu do you want to make a wager about how this battle will end?"

"You are not usually the betting kind."

The master pointed at a shaggy haired youth in a cloak. "He is the pivot, I believe he will determine the outcome of this battle."

"Quite a powerful role then. And who does he represent in your story?" Luxu emquired. "Is he you in your analogy?"

The master laughed at his student's insinuation. "No , no, he is both none and all. He is the horder of lights but also their freedom. He is the abnomily I could not see."

* * *

A chill fell across the guardians as the final vessel of darkness emerged from the dark portal. A tall, handsome man with shoulder length brown hair and yellow eyes that emphasised his brooding expression . He wore simple black and brown clothes with small pieces of armour near his shoulders. His bare arms showed that this man was well trained in combat and the scars across them showed he had had used his skills.

A reaction arose from most of the guardians of light (though both Roxas and Kairi just shrugged at each other, not knowing who the man before them was). But the strongest reaction came from Ventus and Aqua, who broke away from the main group to run towards the man, only to stop as they came too close to their cloaked combatants.

"Terra!" They both yelled excitedly, though if the man heard or recognised them, he made no sign, his eyes were unsettlingly empty as if there was no one left to recognise them.

"Such hopeful yells are for nought, the boy called Terra hasn't existed in years." Said Xehanort turning his back on the youths. "He's now just a powerful puppet."

"Terra's no puppet!" Yelled Ventus, anger in his voice.

Aqua's actions were faster then her words. In a blink of an eye, before any of them could react, she'd jumped over those that blocked her path, her weapon raised to strike Xehanort down. This man had taken everything from her, her home, her master, her family, she was tired of those she cared about falling prey to his greed.

But with equally fast actions her attack was blocked by the ever silent man, a ragged black keyblade in his hands.

" Your years in the Dark Realms have hardened your core." Observed Xehanort. "With a little more time you too had the potential to be a vessel, has the Darkness begun to whisper to you to, Aqua? "

"I'd rather die." She snarled, pushing against Terra.

"That's been arranged. By today's end both the X-blade and Kingdom Hearts will be mine."

"You will never win!"

"Girl, I already have!"

Like freed strung bows the vessels of darkness burst into action at his words, weapons drawn, their targets already chosen. However, the warriors of light weren't any less prepared, they knew what was at stake, this was a battle they couldn't afford to loose. Each had a goal in mind and someone to protect in their hearts.

Riku charged, knocking Data Riku into the air, but the latter quickly retaliated, sending his weapon spiralling towards RIku who sidestepped and ducked, narrowly avoiding a blow directed from behind. Standing behind him with his usual sense of menace was Ansem. Riku cursed as Data Riku landed behind him. How pleasant, he had to face his two least favourite people in all the worlds.

With each nerve of her body screaming in pain Kairi stumbled to her feet the instant Riku freed her from Data Riku's hold. She turned, conjuring her keyblade as she noticed Riku's newest assailant.

He needed her help! But as she took a step towards him a sharp whistling passed by her ear and a cold pain ran across her cheek. Gasping in surprise at the knife that landed before her, and the blood that suddenly began to seep from her grazed cheek she turned to face the source.

"Tsk larxene, you've lost your touch." Complained Marluxia, leaning against a giant pink sith, the sickly sweet smell of roses reaching Kairi.

Larxene snarled besides him, the knives between her fingers raised in front of her face. "Must have been the wind. This girl will be no fun, she's easy pickings."

 _Don't underestimate me_."Thought Kairi, ignoring the pain and standing up straight as she blocked the next knife with her keyblade.

Some distance away Axel caused a burning wall to surround him and his combatants, neither side would be getting any reinforcements.

"Always using the same tricks." Sighed Saix, unphased by the sudden heat surging around him.

"And you act as cool as ever." Laughed Axel, twirling a chakrama in each hand, flames dancing across their edges.

"I feel I've joined a rather intriguing battle." Observed Luxord, calmly shuffling his pack of cards, "lets see who has the batter hand this round."

Giving the ring of fire a decent amount of distance King Mickey, Young Xehanort and Vexen started a near silent dance of clashing weapons, unlike the others, apart from their opposing aims they shared no personal qualms with each other.

However the same couldn't be said for Ventus and Roxas, who had somehow found themselves fighting back to back, facing off against three irritating opponents.

"I wonder if your skills have improved." Manically laughed Xigbar as he sent one relentless attack after another in Roxas's direction, who was using all his strength to stand his ground and not be sent flying back into Ventus.

"Give Terra back!" Ventus was yelling to a cool headed Xemnas.

"Like I told the young woman over there, Terra vanished long ago."

"Liar!" He yelled back attacking . "Terra would never fall to the darkness like that!"

"You should care less about lost fools and more about yourself Ven. We've got our own unfinished business." Laughed Vanitas jumping to attack Ven from behind, whose weapon was unable to move, locked with Xemnas's

" So do we!" Yelled Roxas, ducking under Xigbar's attack and blocking Vanitas's just in time. "Give Sora back!"

"So many missing people, feels like you're dealing with the lost boys, have you tried Neverland?" Laughed Xigbar, aiming a shot with his arrowguns but Ven quickly pulled Xemnas around forcing the Nobody into being his shield.

 _Roxas, focus on the battle before you._

Roxas stiffened at the sudden voice that filled his mind, earning him a painful jab in the stomach from Vanitas. Was that Namine?

 _We'll get Sora back, you just stay alive until then._

"Xion?" He gasped at the second voice . These two girls just kept appearing at the strangest times!? Was he going mad?

 _Trust us_

The two girls said in unison as the pendent seared on his chest and two lights flew out of it and, much to Vanita's surprise, into his chest.

The other boy gagged and coughed staggering away from Roxas in both surprise and anger, sputtering and coughing as he was bent over, spitting into the ground.

"What is up with that freaky pendent of yours!?" He yelled back.

"I've honestly given up trying to to find out." Roxas sighed but the girls words continued to ring in his mind as he returned to a fighting stance and charged at the bent double Vanitas.

He would trust them and their plan, whatever that was.


	30. Safe

"That's a peculiar accessory that boy carries." observed Luxu as, from their viewpoint, he saw two beams of light dart towards Vanitas.

"A tricky bit of troll's magic." Began the Master, adjusting his hood slightly. "Tell me Luxu, what is the point of that trinket?"

"To bind Roxas' soul and heart to the body." Quickly answered Luxu, it felt like he was back in one of his old lessons.

"But Roxas is Sora's Nobody, so, by definition, he wouldn't have a heart to bind."

"Master there was a whole story about that a few years back…"

"Work with me Luxu! So if Roxas had no heart to begin with how is that boy, for all intents and purposes, a regular boy?"

Luxu was silent, thinking, his mind chasing theory after theory from all the things he had observed across the worlds. He'd seen wooden bodies gain flesh and blood, but was that the same thing?

The Master sighed, disappointed in his student. "Luxu, what is a Heart?"

Luxu remained silent, this was one test he hadn't studied for.

The Master sighed again, "Kids these days! What did you stay thinking about while you travelled? The Heart is a collection of a person's bonds and memories. From the moment of our birth we are forming such things. When Roxas was taken back up by his Somebody, his memories and bonds mixed with Sora's making the boy fighting below us possible."

"Now Luxu, what could those two lights be?"

Luxu thought, not wanting to leave another of his master's questions unanswered.

"Those girls." He quickly replied with no particular reason. "Xion and Namine."

"But how? Xion was formed Sora's memories of Kairi, but Namine is Kairi's Nobody why should she be involved in this?"

"Master do you have an answer or are you asking for my theory."

"Maybe."

"If the heart is truly formed from memories and bonds as you said she may be the part of the Light Kairi gave Sora to save him from being a Heartless.

"And the bonds she forged between both Sora and Roxas stopped her from vanishing within Kairi, allowing her to survive within the piece that girl gave Sora."

Luxu shook his head. "Such a complicated theory." he sighed.

The Master of masters laughed. "If their lives were simple they wouldn't have been worth writing in my book."

* * *

It was bold of Roxas to assume they had a plan. It was bold of anyone to assume they actually knew what they were doing. Ever since Roxas had been grabbed out of Sora's heart (with both Xion and Namine alongside him) they hadn't really had a choice of where they were sent. At first they had just observed, barely even able to voice their horror as they saw Sora get pulled into the Darkness. Then in Castle Oblivion it was like some invisible reigns were forcefully cut as they, too, were plunged into Roxas's illusion. It was on the battlefield, as Roxas and Vanitas (in Sora's body) had crossed swords that they had had enough. It might have only worked because they were originally from Sora's heart but it felt like a quick jump through lightspeed that ended with them falling, like shooting stars, into a churning black sea that engulfed their brightly glowing forms.

Their light lingered a moment longer before it faded, as if succumbing to the darkness. Then a dark haired head broke the surface of the rough seas, almost immediately threatened to be pulled back down as she single-handedly forced another, coughing head, to break the surface. Namine coughed and spat out the icy water, allowing Xion to guide her as she tried to blink out the burning salt water from her eyes. After much kicking and thrashing from both girls Namine felt the sharp grating of rocks and with a mess of flailing arms both Xion and Namine collapsed on the sand that felt like ice against their skin.

Namine gagged and coughed, her usually pale fist, even paler as she pounded her chest getting the last of water out of her system. Still coughing, she blinked away the salt, her vision substantially improving but what she saw made little sense. She wobbled to her feet, her soaked dress clinging to her small frame, providing insignificant warmth as she took a simple step away from Xion and up the shore, trying to understand what she was seeing.

"Namine?" Xion spat out the last of the water that burnt her throat, her cloak weighed down on her shoulders, feeling a lot heavier. "Namine, what's wrong?" Xion pushed herself onto her knees as, through burning eyes, she saw what Namine did.

"This can't be…"

Namine was trembling, either from the cold or from what she was seeing around her.

"Destiny Islands… we are back in Sora's Heart!"

"But those keyblades…"

The Keyblades, a ring of colourless rusted weapons spread around the island as far as both girls could see, dark silhouettes of once light bringing blades.

"It's like the Keyblade Graveyard." Namine murmured, as he rubbed her frigid palms across her goose-pimpled arms. No matter how much she tried she couldn't stop her shivering.

She heard the crunching of sand behind her as she assumed that Xion also got to her feet. This was accompanied by an unfamiliar sound and suddenly something dry and warm was draped over her slender shoulders. Startled Namine jumped, almost dropping the garment that caused a sudden flush of warmth to start spreading across her body. Like a confused creature Namine's head darted from side to side as she recognised what it was- Xion's Organisation XIII coat!

Wide-eyed she looked back at the other girl who was smiling tiredly. "What use would that coat be if it wasn't also magically able to keep me dry?"

Namine couldn't even imagine Xion without her coat, in all her memories and all those she had ever seen, Xion was never without it. However, free from it the other girl looked even more like her. She wore an almost identical dress as Namine did only in black and where she wore sandals Xion wore knee high boots. Also unlike her, apart from her hair that clung to her face, she seems almost perfectly dry.

"Are you sure?" Namine began, Adjusting her arms within the cloak's dry sleeves.

But Xion ignored her question as she walked up to the nearest weapon, her gloved fingers tracing the unrecognizable hilt.

"What are these?"

"I think these are all the Keyblades Sora could call…"

"This happened because Vanitas took over, didn't it?" Namine could only nod as Xion pulled the rusted weapon out of the sand, breaking the ring. "We need to get him back."

There was a rare determination in the eyes that Xion looked back at her with.

"But how?" sighed Namine. "I know that's what we told Roxas but I can't fathom how we can do that. I don't know how to fight and you can't conjure any weapons here."

Xion bit her lip as she lifted the sad weapon against the little light that seeped through the thick clouds.

"I don't think I'll need to call on anything, we've got quite the arsenal."

"You don't expect to fight with that!?"

"Not as it is now," Xion's face lightened as she lowered the weapon and made as if to give it to Namine. "But after a little Nami magic it will be good as new."

"My magic only works on memories." Though to herself she thought a single thing- _Nami magic?_

"Exactly! This is your home turf- what is Sora's heart if not his memories?" Xion pushed the weapon into her hands. "Oh give it a try!"

Still skeptical, she took the Keyblade and her eyes lingered on every still visible detail, her mind not tracing her own memories but Sora's and all those whose hearts were strongly linked to his.

Her pale fingers lingered on the keychain. "Ultima Weapon?" she murmured as she pictured the keyblade in as much detail as she could, allowing her warm magic to spark across the tips of her fingers as it spread across the weapon, chipping off the rust and replacing it with radiant gold and silver. Wrapped in an ornate gold filigree in a pattern slightly reminiscent of fish bones, the teeth of the blade were a golden version of the crown charm Sora wore, and the Keychain token, attached to the blade by shimmering thread, was a gilded heart.

Xion whistled , impressed at the beautiful weapon. "Never saw that one before."

"It's a recent addition." Namine explained, handing the weapon to Xion and walking back to the shoreline, it's rough crashing waves leaving white foam in its wake. Her eyes lingered across the broken surface, her mind still running through the memories, the merging of reality and fiction, scattered dreams and far-off memories spread across three hearts but shared under the same sky. A lingering dream that gave her a dangerous idea but as the waves crashed over her sandaled feet bringing with it an answer from the depth she knew she was right. Kneeling slightly she gently lifted the old Wayfinder Kairi had had made so many years ago.

Clutching the collection of shells to her heart she turned to her companion. "I know where Sora is."

"What? How? Where?" Xion ran towards the other girl, excitement obvious in her steps.

"There's a common memory… no a dream... shared between Sora, Roxas and Ventus of them falling through an endless mass of dark water.

"You don't mean..." Xion's voice faltered as her eyes took in the endless see before them . "We'll never find him."

"We might…" murmured Namine, already gesturing with her hands as if she was stopping a ball of yarn from tangling itself and orb of light formed between her palms.

"If I can anchor onto the memory of that dream, the link between the three boys, I might be able to transport us there."

"And if you can't?"

"We'll drown in an unyielding mass of darkness."

"Let's do it." Xion didn't even take a moment to consider the consequences of their actions but she didn't care what happened to her. After all these years Roxas had returned to the real world, to the world of Light where he always belonged and she'd be damned if upon finding his freedom she'd allow his world to be overrun by Xehanort's dark plans.

"Here it goes then!" Namine yelled, spreading her arms and urging the orb of light to expand and surround both girls taking the two of them into the icy depths of the sea.

The trip of turbulent, as the darkness pushed against them, eating away at their bubble of light until it was barely a thin film, it broke as it finally hit the inside of an underwater cave devoid of water, as it tossed its occupants like unwanted lunch.

"You really need to work on you landings." Complained Xion, rubbing at her newly scraped elbows, it was strange without her coat, she felt bare, exposed even.

However Namine too no notice of her comment as she stumbled in the coat as she forced herself onto her feet.

"Sora!" The fear in her voice was almost palpable, her eyes wide.

Ignoring the pain Xion forced herself to take in her surroundings. At first glance it looked like a normal cave, stalagmites and stalactites were scattered around her like jagged teeth, some glistened with salt above puddles of unmoving dark water. But as Xion took in what had Namine so distraught she tightened the grip on her weapon so much it was painful. At the furthest end of the cave the floor steeply plummeted into a dark abyss and, dangling in a dark orb from a painfully thin stalactite like some twisted christmas ornament, was Sora, leaning back in the dark water, as if falling though it.

"You girls are a lot more persistent than those on the outside gave you credit for."

Xion hissed as she darted in front of Namine, her weapon drawn as she blocked the unarmed girl from the speaker.

"Vanitas!" she spat, she'd recognise the cause of so much of their anguish anywhere. Even seeing him without his helmet and his unsettling resemblance to Sora couldn't phase her. She'd always known they would have to face him if they ever wished to bring Sora back.

"How sweet, two pretty birds have flown into my home. Were you drawn here by my treasure? It's not that shiney anymore."

"Give him back!" Growled Xion. "We will beat you."

But Vanitas laughed at her words. "It's cute that you two think you can do more than just peck at my feet but even if you did you would only be sending the boy to his doom."

"And why's that?"

"You destroy me, his bubble pops and he falls into that bottomless pit."

"You despicable…" but whatever Xion was going to call him was covered by the sudden thunder of weapons colliding as she charged him, Ultima Weapon crashing with Void Gear.

"Namine get Sora out of there!" she Yelled as she ducked, dodging an attack and trying to knock Vanitas off his feet.

Without a word Namine ran towards the edge, multiple failing plans crossing her mind with each step.

"A few breadcrumbs for the dove while I deal with this Magpie?" With a snap of his fingers Namine was forced to stop in her advance as heartless of all shapes and sizes began to appear around her, grabbing at her coat, their dark presence suffocating.

"Namine!" yelled Xion pushing against Vanitas to no avail.

Namine shrieked as the monsters grabbed at her pulling at her as she tried to get through to were Sora was, tears streaming from the pain and frustration down her cheeks.

In a battle she was useless, what could she do? She cursed and swore at herself. Sora would give life and limb for his friends- no, he had actually given everything to protect them and the one time he needed them she was useless. So many memories fumbled into a mess inside her mind. So many moments of Sora standing before her, facing the enemy, injured and tired but unstoppable when it came to protecting those he cared about. She was tired of just seeing his back, this time she wanted to protect him. Namine was pulled to the ground, crouching with her hands over her head as she felt the dark pressure over her, their claws trying to pierce through the coat, into her very being.

A blinding light erupted as the memories forced themselves out of her, mingling with her magic and manifesting into a silent form. Blinking back the tears, she looked up as the figure made of light, she couldn't see his face but she recognised that back, it had protected many people many a time.

"Sora?" She murmured but she knew that wasn't right as she stood. This was similar to when Sora used to perform his summons, she'd summoned a memory of Sora. even now, her memories of him were protecting her as, with a silvery Kingdom keyblade he dealt with the heartless around her, clearing the path to where the real sora waited for her.

"Xion! Leave Sora to me! You've got to defeat him!"

"Fool`! You'd destroy Sora too!"

 _Like I'd let that happen!_ She thought to herself as she charged after the figure of light, dodging any straggling Heartless. In her mind she pictured what he needed the figure to do. Building momentum she ran as the Light- Sora knelt on one knee and entwined his fingers before him like a basket. With a final thrust, jumping over a heartless her foot landed on the manifestation's entwined hand as he stood, pushing her with all his magic induced strength over the abyss her arms outstretched towards the orb holding the real Sora.

"Pest!" Vanitas yelled turning to run towards where the Light-Sora's form was slowly fading out of existence. " I won't let…"

But Vanitas words ended in a gag as the tip of Xion's keyblade pierced through his chest. . He coughed as the sudden blood filled his mouth.

"This little bird just packed out your eyes." Xion panted as she pulled out her weapon and staggered sideways, pushing the tip of the keyblade into the ground for support as Vanitas body crumbled to the ground, spluttering.

Namine saw none of this as, to her horror she realised that she wouldn't reach Sora, he was too high. But as Xion's blade had pierced Vanitas the water filled bubble that held Sora disintegrated, pouring its contents into the dark chasm below. The two bodies collided, one following gravity as the other defied it. With all her strength Namine pulled the still unconscious Sora towards her, clinging to his waist with both arms as gravity pulled at both of them.

"Namine!" yelled Xion seeing the two falling figure, she tried to run towards to them but her legs felt like lead, they wouldn't move fast enough. Seeing her friend's advance Namine shook her head and carefully extended a hand, sending an orb of light crashing into Xion and sending her out of the crumbling cave with a message.

 _Go back to Roxas, you should be in his heart._

Weary from the overuse of this unfamiliar branch of her magic, she carefully wrapped her slender arms around Sora as they fell into the Darkness, the wind silent even as it rushed past them. She hooked her arms behind him as she buried her face into her chest. She'd had memories of this shared with her from Kairi, there was a comfort in being this close to the young man. She had memories of this safety, of the comfort of his breathing, of the pounding of his heart beneath her ears. She'd had memories of this, but this was her first time actually experiencing it, now she understood why Kairi considered him her home.

She buried her face into his shirt as she concentrated, she would stay with Sora, in his Heart, protecting it, stopping any Darkness from ever threatening it again.

She smiled as a orb of light began to surround them, they'd keep each other safe.

Against her, she felt Sora shift, she couldn't see if he'd awakened but as they disappeared into the light she felt his strong arms surround her, pushing her closer towards him, keeping her safe like he always did.

 **Hey! So that was a bit of a long chapter but i hope you enjoyed! Now we are drawing ever closer to the end. Thanks so much for reading and feel free to drop a review they are always more than welcome! Until next time- Luna Pendragon**


	31. Union

"Did you sense that Luxu?" The Master physically perked up, as if he'd heard a strange noise.

"No." He admitted, he'd been too preoccupied with the battle below to have noticed anything other than Xehanort's side, through numbers alone, was overwhelming the other.

"I swear you were more attentive in your younger days!"

"Yes my younger days were quite a number of years back." Trying to recompose his irritation he continued. "What did you sense, Master?"

"A shift!" Was his excited reply, as he turned his back on the battle below them and faced the cargo Luxu had brought with him.

The young man's eyes widened, though no one could see- the eye upon its surface was now completely closed and in its stead was a small, unimpressive keyhole. From one of his pockets, the master took out an equally ordinary key. The edges of the casket glowed a pale purple as the key and its counterpart drew near each other.

Luxu held his breath, scarcely believing that at long last, his mission had come to an end, and that the contents of the mysterious box would finally be revealed.

He gasped at the sight.

* * *

Xehanort was pleased with how the battle was progressing. The Guardians of Light had been molded well, albeit hastily and what is made in haste is far more fragile. He had spent many years nurturing his Vessels, each one had honed his or her own skill rather than just being a replica of the other. The Hearts of the guardians would be his, the X-blade forged and with the two the power of Kingdom Hearts would be his to command. His excitement was so great he could almost taste it but the air seemed to be saying something else, it seemed to be laughing at him, mocking him as if it knew the outcome none of them did.

Then he felt it, the shift, like a change in the pull of gravity that caused his stomach to churn unpleasantly. It was the first time in the whole battle that the old master lost his calm and confident demeanor as his eyes darted across the combatants, his eyes judging each battle, for any dwindling shadows or brightening lights, but he could see none. He feared for Terra but Aqua's anguished pleas eased that doubt. Saix's loyalty was also unwavering as ever as he confronted his old friend.

So where was this unsettling feeling coming from?

Then his eyes fell on Vanitas, Ventus and Roxas. The battle seemed unimpressive for the history the three boys shared. But as he looked on, the laughter of the wind intensified and the unpleasant feeling shifted into something far more intense- dread.

"Destroy Vanitas!" he ordered, shocking all the combatants, including the boy in question into a near standstill.

"WH-WHAT?" He yelled as he stopped in his tracks noticing all the eyes on the battlefield falling on him.

All the combatants were equally confused, a number of the Organisation members voiced their own confusion and some even physically struggled against the order, but their wills were not fully their own.

"Destroy Vanitas?!" Ventus yelled looking at Roxas with concern, how did they expect to save Sora if the Organisation was now out to destroy Vanitas?

"No hard feelings kid, ya heard him, Boss's order." Although Xigbar's words were those of concern they didn't sound very heartfelt as he aimed and fired at the youth.

"Oh no you don't!" Roxas interceded the attack, blocking it with his keyblade. "What did you do to make him mad?"

Vanitas would have replied but he suddenly fell to his knees, his fist clenching and unclenching before his chest. His breathing was ragged, his expression pained and confused.

"Stop him!" The master yelled again but the Guardians gave them no chance to do so, each blocked the other's path, whatever was happening, they too had begun to feel the shift, they just hoped it was in their favour.

From Vanitas' chest a small light emerged, no larger than Tinkerbell. It spiralled around a confused Roxas's face (who was convinced he saw a mystified Xion within it) before merging with the stone around his neck once again.

"I-I don't want to go back!" Vanitas was whispering as he struggled, gagging, his chest tightening as something struggled to push him out, as if the body was actually rejecting him!

 _Vanitas you have outstayed your visit_

And with unbelievable force Vanitas was expelled from the body as a tiny black orb and sent spiralling into Ventus whose heart, at long last was finally completely his. Venuts, taken aback, staggered a few steps but so preoccupied with was occuring before him, he did not notice the change that had befallen his keyblade.

Tendrils of white steam began to slither of Vanitas's still heaving body, the cloak was first to go disappear to reveals Sora's jacket and trousers. Then the white of his hair evaporated leaving dark brown spikes. When he looked up at the shocked Roxas, panting and his bow scrunched in pain, he blinked and they turned a blue so bright they still shon in the shadow of Kingdom Hearts.

"Sora?!" gasped Roxas, had they done it? Had Namine and Xion actually managed to free Sora from the Darkness's hold?

The boy gave a weak smile, still panting as he tried to stand, his knees almost buckling beneath him. The question spread across the field, across both side.

"Fools! Destroy him! The balance has been lost!" Xehanort ordered his will the strongest it had ever been, his warriors practically vanished from before their opponents as if through some forced magic and flickered into existence around the still recovering boy. Like a uniform machine the Vessels of Darkness attacked, some even before they had fully materialised.

Knifes, cards, guns and even beams of light were sent his way. Even if Sora had been at his peak, he wouldn't have had time to conjure a weapon to defend himself. In the time between the Organisation's appearance and their attacks hitting, he didn't even have time to take his final breath.

But then he did breath, and he took another breath, and another… sora even blinked a coupled of times to emphasis his confusion. He should have long been speared, sliced and torched but yet, other from still feeling woozy from Vanitas's control he felt relatively undercooked. He looked upon everyone around him, they seemed to be froze mid attack.

"Hello Sora, it's nice to finally meet you in person." Sora jumped at the sudden, unfamiliar voice.

Standing before him was a man in an Organization XIII cloak , Sora instInctively conjured the Kingdom Key, his mind still racing to recognise who was before him, but his face was so perfectly covered in shadow that it was impossible.

"You won't be needing that thing for now." The man said and with a gesture of his hand the keyblade vanished from Sora's grip- _great!_

"Who are you? What have you done?"

The man made as if he was seriously considering what answer to give Sora.

"Hmmm my real name would be useless to you, but you could say I'm the keyblade's first ever chosen, the first Keyblade Master." He said it so casually, as if he were simply talking about the weather. "As for all this." He gestured to the frozen figures around him. "A little time magic my student is performing." He pointed up where another cloaked man, his arms spread out, slightly shaking to maintain the spell. "Couldn't have the worlds' choose their defender to have him fall on the last page of the story."

"Defender? Story? What are you saying!?"

"Master, i'd reduce the idle chatter, I can't maintain this spell for much stronger."

"Go beyond your limits Luxu, I've always told you that."

The man above them (that must have been Luxu) mumbled something incomprehensible but Sora assumed he wasn't complimenting the man before him.

The first keyblade Master clapped, drawing Sora's attention back his way. "Ok, where was I - ah yes, defender of the worlds. You've done a good job so far protecting everyone, you even tasted the Darkness and didn't choke on it! So congrats it's finally official."

But Sora shook his head barely keeping up with his words. " I can't be Worlds' Defender or whatever you call it, I'm not even a keyblade chosen and I only escaped that mess because I had my friends help."

"Exactly! You think the keyblade would go to just anyone normal heart? Yes, maybe hosting Ventus's heart within yours might have helped, but would Ventus have gone to any average Joe? I think not, and would, person risk the Darkness to save you if your bonds were not almost supernaturally strong? Sora your heart is special, I've been alive a very long time, I've seen all these wielders- " He gestured to the graveyard "-fall. I saw the masters that followed them and near every chosen since then but never have I seen them forge the bonds that you have."

"Master!" The Strain was obvious in Luxu's voice above them.

"You don't have much say, the title is yours but it is your choice to wield it or not."

"Wield what?" Sora's mouth felt dry, but it also felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. The doubts and worries he'd harboured since learning the truth about how he'd acquired the keyblade seemed to evaporate with the man's words.

The cloaked man took a showy step sideways to reveal a keyblade pierced into the ground like so many other that surrounded them. However, unlike those it's colours were vibrant and it seemed to almost be pulsing with life. It's blade looked like that of the Kingdom Key but it's material was so translucent it looked like ice or glass. This was reinforced by 5 distinct filigree like chords of brown, pink, yellow, blue, red. At the hilt these chords entwined upon themselves forming an intricate shape that looked like a heart with broad glistening wings. The keyblade's keychain was made of 5 disks, each one complimenting a coloured wire and, against the dimming light Sora could make out a stained glass image upon each disk- a cobra, leopard, unicorn, bear and a fox.

Sora gasped at its beauty as he, cautiously reached towards it, but he was scared to touch it, it appeared as if it would shatter at the gentlest gust of wind.

"The Union Blade" The Master explained, feeling both proud and sad. "Your friend over there has the X-blade and control Kingdom hearts, preventing the worlds from being engulfed by Darkness but this should be used to defend the worlds."

"But wouldn't stopping the Darkness be protecting the world?."

"That is a a question you should ask your Heart." Sora could hear the smile in the man's voice. "But like I said, it's your choice to use it and how."

"Master!"

"We won't be able to give you much more time." And he turned his back on Sora as if to leave.

"Wait!" He called, but he could scarcely turn his back on the Union Keyblade. "Stay, we could use your help, both of your helps in defeating Xehanort."

The master chuckled. "Flattery won't work on me, you don't need my help, now Luxu." Then the man looked up the the sky. "And it's about time we joined my pupils, they have been waiting for us for long enough."

"Wait!" Sora wanted to ask what he meant by that but in a Burt of small lights he vanished. Sora looked up to see the master standing beside the still struggling Luxu, a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck, Sora!" The Master called ." May your heart be not just _a_ guiding key, but _the_ guiding key."

With those parting words the two man vanished and the spell was broken. The Organisation's attack commenced without further question.

 **And with Kingdom Hearts 3's release we begin the end of out story here! Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please drop a review, i always love to hear from you. Until next time- Luna Pendragon**


	32. Reunited

It can be said that, at that moment, no one really knew what was happening on the battlefield. Almost all upon it were convinced that the young keyblade wielder, Sora, would be reduced to nothing recognisable.

No one expected the blast of energy, that offblanced the Vessels, sending their attacks flying harmlessly into the sky or surrounding peaks, but that passed harmlessly over the Guardians.

Then again, no one expected to see Sora there, clutching a keyblade none of them had ever seen before. Unlike the others, it seemed that Sora actually had a slight idea as to what was happening. Gripping his weapon so tightly his knuckles turned white, his crouched, ready to attack, his eyes, full of a newfound determination, pinpointed Xehanort.

For the first time in many years, the old master actually felt fear for his plan.

"Sora, what just happened?"

It was Riku's voice that the young man heard first but he did no answer. A new weight had been placed on his shoulders, a feeling as if , now that he had accepted the Union BLade, many lives- past, present and future, relied on him, and the outcome of this battle.

"Ven." Sora addressed the other boy for the first time without even looking at him. "Don't ask me how, but you can call the X-Blade now, you've got to keep Kingdom Hearts closed and stop the Darkness from pouring out."

"Wha-" but as Ventus reached out his hand, either to prove or disprove Sora's words, the double bladed weapon actually did appear.

"Close it." He repeated. "The others will hold the Organization off, this will only end when we defeat Xehanort."

"Foolish Boy!" Yelled Xehanort, for Sora did nothing to hide his words, everyone upon the field knew of the boy's intentions. "Even if I fall, Kingdom Hearts will not vanish until it is opened and, when that happens- there is no if! Darkness will reign!"

"We can handle the Darkness." He raised the Union keyblade, despite its light and fragile appearance it felt perfectly balanced, as if it had been purposely forged for him to weild. "But without you, all the Organisation members will return to their Somebodies, we would have our friends back including Terra!"

"And what then? A couple more new Guardians will make no difference, I would have still won!"

"We will see about that." And Sora charged at the old man.

Xigbar and Luxord made to attack but Roxas blocked. At Sora's advance Ven raised the X-blade to the sky and a golden beam erupted, merging with the now fully formed Kingdom Hearts, each crevice filling with the light. A sickle was sent swinging, a set of throwing knives in its wake but the youth didn't even react as Kairi twisted the attack back on his assailants.

Axel raised his keyblade, narrowly blocking Saix's blade, the ring of the old friends' weapons colliding was near the only sound that could be heard. Aqua confronted Terranort in a similar manner but her skill sent the older pupil's weapon flying out of reach and its wielder tumbling to the ground, Aqua's keyblade against his neck and her knee pinning him to the ground.

"Stop him!" Xehanort yelled, his voice sounding manic. The last remaining members of the Organisation - Young Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem and Data Riku flew into Sora's path. He just narrowly dodged and the men found Riku and king Mickey in his wake.

"This can't be!" Xehanort was yelling as he took countless frantic steps away from the advancing boy, only for his back to hit same rocky structucture Luxu and the Master of Masters had been standing on. "All these years! The power of Kingdom hearts should have been mine! The book! It said that light would expire- victory was meant to be mine! It was my destiny."

He tried to conjure his keyblade but, no matter how hard he called for it it never appeared, as if, after all these years, it had abandoned him.

"That's the funny thing about destiny, " said Sora, raising his weapon above the now cornered Xehanort, "It has a tendency of getting rewritten."

And his blade fell, ending the man that had caused to much evil and turmoil on so many worlds.

Sora left master Xehanort's body to the mercy of the sand and winds. He did not deserve to fall among the heroes of old but he deserved no further respect either. Anguished cries filled the air as he turned to see the dissipating forms of the Organization members.

"What's happening!?" He Yelled in concern running towards Axel who was hold a squirming Saïx against hai chest- what if defeating Xehanort didn't bring them all back to normal?

"It's ok." Explained Axel, giving Sora an appreciative glance, "The remains of Xehanort's will is disintegrating, these Nobodies will soon vanish and rejoin their Somebodies."

"But do we know where they will reform?" Now Sora was very worried, he felt as if he hadn't thought out this plan at all! "After so long, they shouldn't awake alone!"

"They won't. King Mickey gathered their somebodies long ago. The queen and Ienzo will be waiting for them."

Somewhere else there was the flashing electricity-like light. Despite the unexpected and surprisingly swift change change of events Aqua continued to pin Terra to the ground. Even as the electricity began to spread across his body she didn't move, she barely even breathed until his spasming stopped.

He was still.

"Aqua…?" He sighed, opening his eyes and looking at his old friend.

"Terra!" She cried dropping her weapon from his throat and flinging her arms around him in rib cracking embrace, tears running down her pale cheeks.

"Terra!?" Ventus wanted to run towards them, to embrace the family that had been taken from him for so long. But Roxas put at hand on his still upraised hand and shook his head gently. Ventus looked up at the golden beam that was still emitting from the x-blade. He was right, he couldn't let himself get swept up with the moment just yet, they still had Kingdom Hearts to deal with.

"Sora!" Kairi ran towards him, swinging her arms around him as he approached Ventus.

"Careful the keyblade!" He warned, blushing slightly at her affection but not feeling uncomfortable.

"What's with that keyblade?" Riku too had joined them. "How'd you get it?"

"You wouldn't believe me." He sighed as Kairi broke the embrace.

"Guys, time for questions later." Warned Roxas, looking up at the dark clouds that still swirled around Kingdom Hearts.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold this!" added Ventus, strain clear in his voice.

Sora spared a quick glance at his friends, as they drew around him before looking down at the Union Key, the Master of Masters words returning to him..

 _This should be used to defend the worlds._

But then, he had asked, was protecting them from Darkness not enough? Had that been just a temporary fix?

Then he looked up at Kingdom Hearts and something from much further back came to him.

 _There are many worlds but they share the same sky- one sky-one destiny._

Sora closed his eyes, blocking his friends questions.

 _Let your heart be_ the _guiding key._

He knew what he had to do. There would be confusion and there would be chaos but he knew that this was what was meant to be done, how he, and his friends, could properly defend the worlds.

He raised the Union Key to kingdom Hearts and, as his heart whispered what had, to be done the filigree threads began to glow and spiral beam of colour emerged from its tip, washing away the clouds and, with them, the doors of Kingdom Hearts. In its leave a beautiful stained glass stair case appeared that slowly grew longer and longer until it reached the ground.

For him to be a proper defender of the worlds, they could be only one. The passages had been opened, the multitudes of worlds, forcefully split, had been reunited once again.

 **AND THAT'S IT! The final chapter is done and dusted (though can't promise that this will be my final KH fanfic). Thank you all so much for reading and staying with me to the end. I hope you enjoyed and feel free to drop a review! once again thanks so much for reading this :) - Luna Pendragon**


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